New York's return to looking like the New York Rangers has many fans enjoying themselves. However, one point of contention keeps splitting opinion. Adam Edstrom and Sam Carrick have been excellent as the Rangers have started to shift the season around to look back at the playoff places rather than the draft lottery, but a rotating cast of linemates has left parts of the fanbase wanting more. Whether it be Matt Rempe, Jimmy Vesey, or Jonny Brodzinski, the mix hasn't been right.
This has left many fans clamoring for a recall of Brett Berard, who was excellent in his short tenure with the big club earlier in the year. While Brett Berard improves this team, the issues come when you try to find a place for him. Is it worth damaging his development by giving him fourth-line minutes, or do you take one of the recently hot scorers out of the top nine to make room for him?
A line of Edstrom, Carrick, and Berard seems nice in theory, but limiting Berard's playing time seems counterintuitive since that was the reason he was sent down in the first place. You want him destroying souls in the American Hockey League, so his confidence is in the right place to insert him when he is needed back with the big club. Destroying that for the sake of Jimmy Vesey seems like a mistake.
Another option I've seen is that the Rangers could move Reilly Smith down to the fourth line and insert Berard with Mika Zibanejad. While this makes more sense than banishing Berard to the fourth line, Smith's short-handed goal in Utah started the Rangers' comeback. It's a difficult justification for the Rangers. How do they get this talented kid into the NHL without messing up the balance of the franchise?
Alternatively, New York can leave Berard in the minors and pull him up for next season when Smith and Vesey are moved on. New York will have openings on the roster to fill which Berard would do nicely in. They don't have to accomodate his NHL future at this moment, and can push it down the road. What they cannot do is then have another player occupy his position on the roster if they wish to retain him.