Immediately following last night’s win over Calgary, the Rangers returned Brett Berard to Hartford, also for the 6th time. Berard was called up yesterday before yesterday’s win–with the Rangers returning Brendan Brisson to Hartford–but did not dress. Sending Berard to Hartford so soon means Taylor Raddysh is likely returning to the lineup for Thursday’s game in Winnipeg. Raddysh has missed the last two games after his father passed.
It wasn’t surprising to see Berard in the press box, given how the Rangers looked in their win in Philadelphia the night before. I’m sure being a yo-yo isn’t fun, but he also got an NHL paycheck for an extra day. That’s a nice consolation prize.
Much like with Scott Morrow, it’s likely the Rangers are continuing to play Conor Sheary, Jonny Brodzinski, and others because they want Berard to get bigger minutes in all situations in Hartford. Development isn’t linear and it isn’t a one size fits all approach. However, watching Berard go up and down despite looking better than other veterans has been frustrating.