Why a New York Rangers forward spends his summers in a Connecticut basement

When 22-year-old Brett Berard makes his way downstairs every evening, it's not because he's avoiding the world. The New York Rangers forward is spending his NHL off-season living with the Fiorita family—an unabashedly Rangers-obsessed family that has unofficially claimed him as one of their own.

From NHL ice to driveway basketball

Brett Berard, signed in 2020, is in the final year of his three-year entry-level agreement. Although his NHL salary will increase shortly, his present two-way contract pays him $80,000 when he skates for the New York Rangers' AHL affiliate, the Hartford Wolf Pack—a far cry from the multimillion-dollar deals fans envision. That's how Rhode Island-born Brett Berard found himself in suburban Connecticut. During summer training with strength coach Ben Prentiss in Stamford, Brett Berard spoke of his intentions to a friend he had grown up with, who just so happened to know the Fioritas.

In a matter of days, the situation was arranged.

For the Fioritas, whose four kids were raised on Rangers hockey, it was a no-brainer "yes." Missy Fiorita remembers, “Anyone that could would do this,” Brett Berard says. “I live all year by myself, so it’s kind of a second family away from my family.”

Life with the Fioritas

Berard fit easily into everyday life. Mornings begin with eggs—sometimes five eggs at once—followed by gym sessions and skating drills.

Afternoons can include pool workouts or golf games with Matthew Fiorita, the family club champion. Evenings are for TV viewing, movies, driveway basketball, or competitive Rummikub until Missy instructs him to get some rest. He makes use of the main floor bathroom, showers upstairs as the rest of the household does, and sometimes takes over a sibling's bedroom when weary of hotel life for the season. The basement setup benefits all parties—Berard avoids rent, and the Fioritas enjoy a front-row view of his NHL adventure. But it's not without surprises, such as the evening last summer when Berard returned home cradling his jaw following a skate. His teeth had been displaced by an injury, and by dawn Missy was taking him to an oral surgeon in White Plains. Also read: NHL’s next defensive stars: Brandt Clarke and Moritz Seider headline potential top 20 list for 2025-26

A second family away from home

Berard appeared in 35 games with the Rangers last season, and when the offseason concludes in mid-September, he'll go back to Hartford or New York. But for now, the basement in Darien is his summer home.