 On October 14, 2010, Festerling was demoted to the Ducks' new AHL affiliate, the Syracuse Crunch.After starting the 2010–11 season with the Crunch, on December 31, 2010, he was traded (along with the Ducks' fifth-round pick in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft) to the Montreal Canadiens in exchange for Maxim Lapierre.Festerling was then immediately assigned to the Canadiens' AHL affiliate, the Hamilton Bulldogs.