Confirmed with Link: Blues sign David Perron (4 years @ $4m)

[Majorityof1]

Why are the Blues only protecting two forwards? It's 4 forwards and 4 defensemen or 7 forwards and 3 defensemen, unless the expansion rules are different for when Seattle joins.

Oh, my bad, I was thinking it was 4 and 3 for some reason. Listed Schwartz, Tarasenko and meant one of Schenn or O'Reilly for third. With 4+4, we would do both. Still leaving Bozak and Fabbri unprotected. Cs are a premium so Bozak would go over Perron. Also Schmaltz, or Walman are possibilities if they can move in and steal a D spot in the next 2 years. So Perron still seems low on the expected target list

 

[TheBluePenguin]

Petro will be an UFA also right? We could wait to sign him until after the expansion draft and still work out the 7F 3D scenario, Protect Colt, Ed and Dunn, agree to term with Petro and Schenn but not sign until after the draft.... Risky with teh amount of money people will/should through at Petro but it is an idea

 

[Oberyn]

Petro will be an UFA also right? We could wait to sign him until after the expansion draft and still work out the 7F 3D scenario, Protect Colt, Ed and Dunn, agree to term with Petro and Schenn but not sign until after the draft.... Risky with teh amount of money people will/should through at Petro but it is an idea

I wouldn't. Things can change quickly in the hockey world, just ask the Jets who cleared cap space for Stastny only to have him sign with he team that eliminated them in the playoffs.

I'd bet that Pietrangelo will be extended before the last year of his contract similarly to Doughty.I certainly don't want to see a Tavares type situation looming over the team for the whole season.

 

[Celtic Note]

I think it's too early to speculate. If the Blues go 4/4, then Fabbri will likely be Seattle's choice. If the Blues go 7/3, then Edmundson/Dunn will be selected. Really depends on how Fabbri looks and develops over the next couple years. If he starts to show signs of hitting his potential pre-injuries, then I'd protect him and expose one of the D. Who knows, maybe Mikkola develops well and makes Edmundson expendable. Or Walman/Perunovich pan out and make Dunn expendable. A lot can change before the Seattle expansion so I wouldn't try to predict whether the Blues go 4/4 or 7/3.

We could always send a cost controlled asset to Seattle to get them to not take a player.

But, I agree it is too early. There are too many variables that can change the course of the strategy by then.

 

[WeWentBlues]

I think it's too early to speculate. If the Blues go 4/4, then Fabbri will likely be Seattle's choice. If the Blues go 7/3, then Edmundson/Dunn will be selected. Really depends on how Fabbri looks and develops over the next couple years. If he starts to show signs of hitting his potential pre-injuries, then I'd protect him and expose one of the D. Who knows, maybe Mikkola develops well and makes Edmundson expendable. Or Walman/Perunovich pan out and make Dunn expendable. A lot can change before the Seattle expansion so I wouldn't try to predict whether the Blues go 4/4 or 7/3.

In that scenario, I would hope Eddie or Dunn would be traded for assets to a team that has room to protect them. Losing either to expansion draft would be awful.

 

[BleedBlue14]

Petro will be an UFA also right? We could wait to sign him until after the expansion draft and still work out the 7F 3D scenario, Protect Colt, Ed and Dunn, agree to term with Petro and Schenn but not sign until after the draft.... Risky with teh amount of money people will/should through at Petro but it is an idea

Personally I would feel much more comfortable locking up Petro and just paying a price to have Seattle take someone decent of our choosing. Maybe pay to have them take Allen if he is serviceable at the time, although I think at that point we would be exposing whoever our other option is as well.

 

[TheBluePenguin]

I wouldn't. Things can change quickly in the hockey world, just ask the Jets who cleared cap space for Stastny only to have him sign with he team that eliminated them in the playoffs.

I'd bet that Pietrangelo will be extended before the last year of his contract similarly to Doughty.I certainly don't want to see a Tavares type situation looming over the team for the whole season.

Personally I would feel much more comfortable locking up Petro and just paying a price to have Seattle take someone decent of our choosing. Maybe pay to have them take Allen if he is serviceable at the time, although I think at that point we would be exposing whoever our other option is as well.

Yeah you are both probably right, but it would be nice in a perfect world to have our cake and eat it too

 

[tfriede2]

In that scenario, I would hope Eddie or Dunn would be traded for assets to a team that has room to protect them. Losing either to expansion draft would be awful.

Well, try to trade something to Seattle in exchange for them not picking Ed/Dunn first.

 

[MissouriMook]

Well, try to trade something to Seattle in exchange for them not picking Ed/Dunn first.

Or do the reverse-Vegas and have them send us a future pick in exchange for not protecting Steen.

 

[BlueDream]

Good interview Strickland did with Perron on the Blues site. I do admire his love for the Blues, and I really hope he wins a Cup here. I mean cmon, he deserves it.

Just watching some of his highlights again, I know he can be frustrating but man he can also be so good sometimes too.

Feeling a lot better about this signing now.

 

[yogintheaveragebears]

I remember his first game back after the jumbo Joe hit the place went nuts n he scored I think against the hawks?

 

[BleedBlue14]

This may be an unpopular opinion, but I just watched Strickland interview with Perron. The two thing should that really interested me were 1. I'm almost sure he left money on the table to come here, even after being exposed in the ED. 2. He said in Vegas he succeeded because he had a defined role. In the lineup he was in the top 6 and on the powerplay he played on the half-wall.

I am honestly really happy he came back. This time around I think it's right that we have tempered expectations for him and understand that he will more than likely be around a 50 point player not a super star (not that I'm sure anyone expected anything differently the first or second stay here). It says great numbers that someone from Quebec was willing to leave offers on the table to come back here especially amidst the Tavares sweepstakes leaving us completely short handed on getting the time of day. There really is still appeal to play here. I just don't think we're going to attract people who are really looking to cash in financially in terms of endorsements. It feels like there is a serious family atmosphere here within the players and to some that could be a very important factor. He also mentioned that DA said he had big plans when discussing contracts with him which is now known but at the time of the signing not so much for us. Really glad we brought Army back, just really hoping we can extend the other Armstrong now.

As for Perron having a defined role in Vegas leading to success I think that's interesting because as our roster stands the only player in our top 9 who I'm not sure if we can realistically expect to step in the top 6 and not have previous experience there is Robert Thomas. I think this is extremely important because our players will now be able to have defined roles as a group and have experience in their roles as opposed to last year where we had a collection of parts just hopping around from line to line expected to produce more than they were capable of.

Now the real exciting part for me was seeing Perron on the half wall in Vegas. Admittedly I didn't watch a lot of their games. Having a RH shot there is huge for Schenn and ROR. Both of whom have great one timers that we have seen them use in Philly and Buffalo respectively.

I get that at the beginning this signing didn't look great and certainly wasn't a sexy signing but I for one am extremely happy that DP57 came back.

 

[shpongle falls]

I remember his first game back after the jumbo Joe hit the place went nuts n he scored I think against the hawks?

Yep it was against the Hawks, was awesome to see after he missed a ton of time with that concussion. Always been a fan of Perron and glad he's back with the Blues.

 

[CaliforniaBlues310]

Regarding Perron on the powerplay I’d put him on the 2nd unit. I think we can roll two evenly deployed, pretty solid units, and also legitimately use the umbrella.

1st Unit: Umbrella
Half wall/Net front: Thomas
Net front: O’Reilly
L Circle: Parayko
R Circle: Tarasenko
QB: Dunn

2nd Unit: Overload/Umbrella hybrid
Half wall/L Circle: Perron
L Circle/Bumper: Bozak
Net front: Schwartz
Point/R Circle: Schenn
QB/Point: Pietrangelo

 

[ZigZagBluesFan]

Still the best goal I've ever seen in person.

 

[CaliforniaBlues310]

Still the best goal I've ever seen in person.

Perron was for sure one of my favorites in his early days. Was very happy for him last year when he got 66pts in 70 games, because it was the production I truly thought he’d eventually get when he was in his first go-round here. I was bummed we lost him the first time, not as much the second after another poor playoff performance. However, him loving this city so much to turn down other offers, and his assumed confidence from last season...I think we’ll see his best performance as a Blue this year.

 

[Brian39]

This may be an unpopular opinion, but I just watched Strickland interview with Perron. The two thing should that really interested me were 1. I'm almost sure he left money on the table to come here, even after being exposed in the ED. 2. He said in Vegas he succeeded because he had a defined role. In the lineup he was in the top 6 and on the powerplay he played on the half-wall.

I am honestly really happy he came back. This time around I think it's right that we have tempered expectations for him and understand that he will more than likely be around a 50 point player not a super star (not that I'm sure anyone expected anything differently the first or second stay here). It says great numbers that someone from Quebec was willing to leave offers on the table to come back here especially amidst the Tavares sweepstakes leaving us completely short handed on getting the time of day. There really is still appeal to play here. I just don't think we're going to attract people who are really looking to cash in financially in terms of endorsements. It feels like there is a serious family atmosphere here within the players and to some that could be a very important factor. He also mentioned that DA said he had big plans when discussing contracts with him which is now known but at the time of the signing not so much for us. Really glad we brought Army back, just really hoping we can extend the other Armstrong now.

As for Perron having a defined role in Vegas leading to success I think that's interesting because as our roster stands the only player in our top 9 who I'm not sure if we can realistically expect to step in the top 6 and not have previous experience there is Robert Thomas. I think this is extremely important because our players will now be able to have defined roles as a group and have experience in their roles as opposed to last year where we had a collection of parts just hopping around from line to line expected to produce more than they were capable of.

Now the real exciting part for me was seeing Perron on the half wall in Vegas. Admittedly I didn't watch a lot of their games. Having a RH shot there is huge for Schenn and ROR. Both of whom have great one timers that we have seen them use in Philly and Buffalo respectively.

I get that at the beginning this signing didn't look great and certainly wasn't a sexy signing but I for one am extremely happy that DP57 came back.

Funny how much overlap there was between people who hated this signing and people who say things like, "I'd prefer a lesser player who actually wants to be here than players we have who are just cashing paychecks."

 

[BleedBlue14]

Funny how much overlap there was between people who hated this signing and people who say things like, "I'd prefer a lesser player who actually wants to be here than players we have who are just cashing paychecks."

I'm not sure what you mean. Are you meaning during the season when everyone was dogging players like Berglund etc for not playing hard etc?

Personally I didn't believe that we had a chance to bring Perron back. I wouldn't have thought that he would be ok with going back to a team that tossed him aside and then were worse off for it. Especially on what seems like a pretty reasonable contract. Term may be a bit longer than preferred but 4m a year is completely reasonable.

 

[Brian39]

I'm not sure what you mean. Are you meaning during the season when everyone was dogging players like Berglund etc for not playing hard etc?

Personally I didn't believe that we had a chance to bring Perron back. I wouldn't have thought that he would be ok with going back to a team that tossed him aside and then were worse off for it. Especially on what seems like a pretty reasonable contract. Term may be a bit longer than preferred but 4m a year is completely reasonable.

Essentially, yes.

After Army used the phrase "independent contractors," the most common complaint about any Blues player was that they didn't care and this locker room needed to be purged of players that didn't want to be here. I saw countless posts this year along the lines of, "I don't care who the Blues replace X with so long as it's a team first guy who wants to be a St. Louis Blue more than they want to collect a paycheck." Calling a guy an independent contractor (usually based on pure speculation) was the criticism of this season. A lot of those same people were complaining the loudest about this contract.

 

[BleedBlue14]

Essentially, yes.

After Army used the phrase "independent contractors," the most common complaint about any Blues player was that they didn't care and this locker room needed to be purged of players that didn't want to be here. I saw countless posts this year along the lines of, "I don't care who the Blues replace X with so long as it's a team first guy who wants to be a St. Louis Blue more than they want to collect a paycheck." Calling a guy an independent contractor (usually based on pure speculation) was the criticism of this season. A lot of those same people were complaining the loudest about this contract.

Ahh that's what I thought you were meaning. Luckily I was busy until about 8 Sunday and didn't look at the board hardly any aside from trying to see who signed where.

Heard it was pretty doom and gloom until the OReilly signing though. Honestly I was just happy we kept Kyrou and Thomas as well as put together a more competitive roster than we previously had. Stastny clearly didn't work here for what we needed from him. I get that Perron and Bozak aren't necessarily world beaters but the most intriguing thing I've heard from all 3 of the new guys is that they want to win pretty damn bad and think we have the roster to do it. Every single one of them picked here because they thought we had the roster to win it all, or at least that's what they said in their welcome interviews. I'm extremely excited about that portion of it. I'm. Moreso excited that we have a whole top 9 now as opposed to having to shuffle players up and down. Which I'm sure at some point we will have to but it won't be as ridiculous as the crop we had in the top 9 for most of last year

 

[CaliforniaBlues310]

In regards to the top 9 being way more complete, I agree. Plus, when the injuries strike, our entire 4th line can play up, and we have Kyrou, Blais, Sanford, and Kostin as well. Our depth is beyond solid.

 

[AjaxManifesto]

This may be an unpopular opinion, but I just watched Strickland interview with Perron. The two thing should that really interested me were 1. I'm almost sure he left money on the table to come here, even after being exposed in the ED. 2. He said in Vegas he succeeded because he had a defined role. In the lineup he was in the top 6 and on the powerplay he played on the half-wall.

I am honestly really happy he came back. This time around I think it's right that we have tempered expectations for him and understand that he will more than likely be around a 50 point player not a super star (not that I'm sure anyone expected anything differently the first or second stay here). It says great numbers that someone from Quebec was willing to leave offers on the table to come back here especially amidst the Tavares sweepstakes leaving us completely short handed on getting the time of day. There really is still appeal to play here. I just don't think we're going to attract people who are really looking to cash in financially in terms of endorsements. It feels like there is a serious family atmosphere here within the players and to some that could be a very important factor. He also mentioned that DA said he had big plans when discussing contracts with him which is now known but at the time of the signing not so much for us. Really glad we brought Army back, just really hoping we can extend the other Armstrong now.

As for Perron having a defined role in Vegas leading to success I think that's interesting because as our roster stands the only player in our top 9 who I'm not sure if we can realistically expect to step in the top 6 and not have previous experience there is Robert Thomas. I think this is extremely important because our players will now be able to have defined roles as a group and have experience in their roles as opposed to last year where we had a collection of parts just hopping around from line to line expected to produce more than they were capable of.

Now the real exciting part for me was seeing Perron on the half wall in Vegas. Admittedly I didn't watch a lot of their games. Having a RH shot there is huge for Schenn and ROR. Both of whom have great one timers that we have seen them use in Philly and Buffalo respectively.

I get that at the beginning this signing didn't look great and certainly wasn't a sexy signing but I for one am extremely happy that DP57 came back.

Great post.

The family thing and STL is real. I lived on the West Coast in more hip and cool places, and I’ve had opportunities to go back there. But when I think about what that would do to the quality of my kids upbringing (schools, activities, accessibility, culture), I’m not leaving. Not until they are out of the house. If you find the right neighborhoods, it’s a fantastic place to raise a family.

 

[AjaxManifesto]

Perron just couldn't say 'no' to St. Louis and the Blues

 

[DatDude44]

I remember his first game back after the jumbo Joe hit the place went nuts n he scored I think against the hawks?

Yup that was awesome.

I was watching fabbri highlights....my GOD if he’s anything close to what he was

 

[BadgersandBlues]

Fun fact about David Perron:

He's played for 5 different teams over the course of his career (St. Louis, Edmonton, Pittsburgh, Anaheim, and Vegas) yet he's only signed a contract with one team in his whole career, the Blues.