Islanders to sign Berard?

Greg Logan of Newsday reports that unrestricted free agent defenseman Bryan Berard may soon become a New York Islander once again.

In the first step towards signing Berard, Islanders GM Garth Snow placed defenseman Freddy Meyer on waivers Saturday for the purpose of clearing a roster spot and possibly some salary cap room, as well.

While Meyer doesn’t have much trade value at the moment, he could be picked up by a team looking for some inexpensive depth. Meyer will earn $540,000 in this the last season of his contract. If Meyer goes unclaimed by another NHL team, he will be assigned the Islanders’ AHL affiliate.

With Meyer gone, the Islanders will be one player short of the 23-man maximum roster limit, thus opening the door for Berard.

Berard, who has been “paying his own expenses to practice with the Islanders since training camp ended,” has already been mentioned by Islanders head coach Ted Nolan as the future quarterback of the team’s top power-play unit.

So, it appears as the only thing keeping Berard for dressing up for his former team is a contract. However, Berard can’t be signed until Meyer is off the roster, Logan points out on his blog.

Logan doesn’t expect the Islanders to make any other roster moves before their next game.