The Rangers are trading restricted free agent winger Brett Berard to Montreal for William Trudeau, a restricted free agent defenseman, the teams announced Friday.

Berard was originally drafted by former Rangers general manager Jeff Gorton, now the Canadiens’ president of hockey operations. This move marks the first trade whatsoever between Gorton and his successor in New York, current team president and GM Chris Drury, since Gorton was fired from the job in May 2021.

Berard has six goals and 10 points in 48 career NHL games. He had an encouraging first taste of NHL action in 2024-25, scoring six goals and 10 points in 35 games, but was held without a point in 13 NHL games in 2025-26.

Berard had 23 points in 30 AHL games in 2024-25, followed by 22 in 41 games in the minors this past season.

Are the Sharks why the Blackhawks traded for Bowen Byram?

Corey Pronman, Scott Wheeler and more

Trudeau was a 2021 fourth-round pick by Montreal. He had 20 points in 62 games last season with AHL Laval, where he’s spent the previous four seasons. He’s yet to make his NHL debut. The Rangers have an organizational need at defense, so Trudeau can help fill that. He would need to clear waivers to be sent to AHL Hartford.

What Trudeau brings to New York

Trudeau, who will be 24 in October, has proven to be a solid AHL contributor who could best be described as an all-around defenseman. While that is a good quality, no aspect of Trudeau’s game particularly stands out, which might be one reason why he has been unable to make the jump to the NHL in his four professional seasons.

Trudeau can play a hard defensive game but is not overly physical, and he can contribute offensively but is not a particularly gifted puck-mover. If there is NHL upside in his game — and there very well might be — he was unlikely to realize it in Montreal with such a backlog of promising defensemen in the system. On Laval alone, he was behind Adam Engström and David Reinbacher, two players drafted by the current administration, while up in Montreal, there is already a logjam on the blue line with Arber Xhekaj and Jayden Struble consistently fighting for the No. 6 job.

Perhaps in an organization a bit lighter on young defensemen, Trudeau will find a path to making the jump.

What Berard brings to Montreal

Berard is no longer exempt from waivers, and he was projected to have a hard time cracking the Rangers’ opening-night roster. The team has a group of young bottom-six wings vying for spots, including Adam Sýkora, Jaroslav Chmelař, Matt Rempe and Adam Edström, as well as veterans Tye Kartye and Taylor Raddysh.

A 2020 fifth-round pick, Berard is listed at only 5-foot-9, but he plays with feistiness and a high motor. He has some scoring ability, as he showed during his rookie season in the NHL. In his lone full AHL season (2023-24), he had 25 goals in 71 games. He might not be able to stick as a full-time NHLer, but if he does, it will likely be in a bottom-six energy role.