Brett Berard played 35 games with the Rangers last season, which is over 40% of their games. It felt like much less of a look for Berard, but perhaps that’s because last year was one of those years you like to forget. Still, Berard was present for a good chunk of the season, putting up a line of 6-4-10 while playing mostly bottom six minutes. Berard made an immediate impression, notching a goal and an assist in his first two games before the November/December train wreck tanked everyone’s production.
Berard’s ice time was mostly with Sam Carrick (166 minutes) and a rotating cavalry of other players under 100 minutes TOI–Chris Kreider, Will Cuylle, Mika Zibanejad, Filip Chytil, Matt Rempe, and Vincent Trocheck. Berard showed flashes of his speed and offensive ability, separating himself from Brennan Othmann as an impact forward in the NHL.
Berard is known as a pesky prospect with some middle six offensive upside. He showcased a good amount of that ability during his 35 games, but like many others, his performance was overshadowed and impacted by the overall team stink around him. His overall metrics weren’t great, but he also didn’t play enough 5v5 minutes for them to be a valuable tool to evaluate his play. Throw in the 2024-2025 Rangers *gestures wildly* and you have an incomplete analysis, at least from a stats point of view.
What we do know is Brett Berard was feisty when on the ice and did cause a good amount of disruption on the forecheck. He was also one of the only (somewhat) consistent forecheckers on the team, something new coach Mike Sullivan will absolutely love. Berard is Sully’s type of player for sure.
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