Canadiens sign Brett Berard to one-year contract

One of the new faces heading to la belle province has inked a new deal.

On Thursday, the Montreal Canadiens signed forward Brett Berard to a one-year, two-way contract. According to PuckPedia, the deal has an NHL cap hit of $850,000, a minor-league salary of $175,000, and a guaranteed salary of $205,000 for the 2026-27 season.

The Canadiens had acquired Berard’s signing rights two weeks ago via a trade with the New York Rangers, in which Montreal gave up defenseman William Trudeau to complete the deal. Berard had come to the end of his three-year, entry-level contract, which he signed in March 2023. That deal had an AAV of $925,000 and a minor-league cap hit of $80,000.

Berard is hoping a new home might give him a better opportunity to blossom into an NHL product. The Providence College product was taken by the Rangers in the fifth round, 134th overall, of the 2020 NHL Draft. Over the past three seasons, he has been a solid offensive weapon with the Blueshirts’ American Hockey League affiliate, the Hartford Wolf Pack, but hasn’t been consistent enough to stay with the Rangers for extended periods. While he managed to score six goals and 10 points in 35 games with New York during the 2024-25 campaign, Berard dressed for just 10 games with the team this past year, but failed to register a point.

Meanwhile, the East Greenwich, R.I. native posted six goals and 22 points in 41 games with the Wolf Pack. It’s a little off from his rookie season, his lone full season in Hartford, when he notched 25 goals and 48 points in 71 contests.

In 145 regular-season games in the AHL, the 23-year-old has posted 40 goals and 53 assists for 93 points, with another six points in 10 Calder Cup Playoff contests.