With the Rangers' resurgence in 2025, the rumors circling the organization after the J.T. Miller trade have calmed down. New York is still looking to make changes, but the constant noise of player movement has dissipated, making room for the renewed playoff charge of a team that was fancied as a contender at the start of the season. They will need substantial depth to return to the postseason, leading to the Brett Berard question. How do the Rangers get him in the lineup?
In his brief stay with the NHL roster, Berard was great. His production rate 5-on-5 during his 210 minutes with the NHL team still ranks 4th among active roster members, or fifth if you wish to include Kaapo Kakko. Given the struggling roster he joined when he was recalled from the Hartford Wolf Pack, his three goals and four assists for seven points remain essential. Now the question is how to get him back into the lineup.
Berard was returned to the Wolf Pack to make room on the active roster for waiver claim Arthur Kaliyev. Kaliyev has since taken his roster place with varying on-ice results, but the questioning of this decision hasn't stopped. Everyone in the Rangers fan base is looking for a way to make Berard's recall not just possible but a priority, though that isn't going to happen while the roster keeps winning.
With J.T. Miller now up on the roster, the idea of putting Berard somewhere down the lineup with a center like Mika Zibanejad if Peter Laviolette opts to load his center core up does give more merit to someone with Berard's scoring touch playing limited minutes down the lineup. That role of the ol' kid line, where the Rangers ask their depth to turn the tide of a game, might suit Berard.