NEW YORK -- The Rangers made their first move of a critical offseason Friday, trading forward Brett Berard to the Canadiens for defenseman William Trudeau.
Berard, who turns 24 in September, was once considered part of the Rangers' future core but instead gets a change of scenery with the Canadiens. Trudeau is roughly a month younger but has been in the minors and has not made his NHL debut, whereas Berard has played in 48 games with the Rangers and registered 10 points.
Rangers general manager Chris Drury is expected to make much bigger deals after New York missed the playoffs for the second straight season.
Center Vincent Trocheck has been involved in trade talks going back to before the deadline in March.