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

[The Note in MI]

Any interest in the other David, Backes?

No

 

[Bluesguru]

Here, I've got a challenge for you. Name a RHS top 9 player available in free agency you want to fill in a top 9 role this year you think you can get for 1-2 years.

Vanek signed again for 1 yr at 3M. A better player, a better front net presence and a short term investment which is all the Blues needed for RW. Bozak was a good signing but 4 years of Perron is extreme. A 2 year deal would be acceptable, but 4 is crazy. That's 6 years now, that Armstrong has handed out to Perron. Talk about tunnel vision. Blues need a GM that can think out of the box, someone who is a visionary. How many years of Tarasenko's contract do we want to waste?

 

[Halak Ness Monster]

Bad signing. Waste of money. This is a move to try to get us to the playoffs and nothing more. Perron is an atrocious playoff performer. We've seen it time and time again.

Don't give me the "we have to get there first" BS. Why? So we can get knocked out in 6 games?

4 years is insane length for Perron. A lot of the fanbase was fine with him going to Vegas for nothing a year ago. There's a reason. He disappears in big games.

We will despise this contract in a year or two just like we do with Sobotka and Berglund. Zero doubt about that.

 

[Bluesguru]

I think DA is smarter than we give him credit for.

I think every team knows the quality of our prospects and our young D corps. From what I’ve read DA is working the phones. My speculation is that every offer is WAY too costly. I think we are targeting 2019-2020 as our year to make a legit run at the cup. This season, 2018-2019, is where we get our young prospects “seasoned” and try for a playoff berth. Signing Perron works into this strategy. The guy knows us, we know him, there won’t be any problems.

Perron is really a 3rd line winger that will play top 6 minutes for an offensively challenged team. The Blues are LOADED with bottom 6 players. The 4 year deal given is extreme. I'd rather wait and let free agency play out and find a bargain later. There's always veterans looking for work when the dust settles. Tying up cap space for Perron is just more of the same. That's called insanity.

 

[Blanick]

Any interest in the other David, Backes?

Nope. Sorry your stuck with that contract.

 

[Splatter]

This signing is hilarious, but it ain't bad. He wants to be in St. Louis. That much is cool.

 

[Bluesguru]

Did the coach actually say they are sitting Perron because of this?

What I actually heard from their coach was that he was hurt.

Yeah, upper body injury - bruised ego

 

[CaliforniaBlues310]

Not gonna lie, I know Perron is better at LW, but something tells me he’s gonna fit very well with Schwartz/Schenn.

 

[Ranksu]

Not gonna lie, I know Perron is better at LW, but something tells me he’s gonna fit very well with Schwartz/Schenn.

Schwartz and Schenn point produce will regress to half what it was last season.

 

[Ranksu]

Good thing with bring Perron back is he can use his old gears.

 

[CaliforniaBlues310]

Schwartz and Schenn point produce will regress to half what it was last season.

I know you’re kidding, but they kept it up with Jaskin and Berglund on that line. I’m just excited to see them with a playmaking RHS guy..whether it’s DP57 or Kyrou.

 

[MortiestOfMortys]

Bad signing. Waste of money. This is a move to try to get us to the playoffs and nothing more. Perron is an atrocious playoff performer. We've seen it time and time again.

Don't give me the "we have to get there first" BS. Why? So we can get knocked out in 6 games?

4 years is insane length for Perron. A lot of the fanbase was fine with him going to Vegas for nothing a year ago. There's a reason. He disappears in big games.

We will despise this contract in a year or two just like we do with Sobotka and Berglund. Zero doubt about that.

It’s pretty clear you already do lol.

 

[mk80]

Perron scores the Stanley Cup winning goal for us in three seasons with the assist going to Rob Thomas...

Overall I'm ok with this signing. Is he the best? No. But he adds at least 40 points to our lineup this year. and is RH shot.

 

[AjaxManifesto]

Any interest in the other David, Backes?

Send him back when he wants to retire. He would be great asset on our coaching staff.

 

[AjaxManifesto]

Bad signing. Waste of money. This is a move to try to get us to the playoffs and nothing more. Perron is an atrocious playoff performer. We've seen it time and time again.

Don't give me the "we have to get there first" BS. Why? So we can get knocked out in 6 games?

4 years is insane length for Perron. A lot of the fanbase was fine with him going to Vegas for nothing a year ago. There's a reason. He disappears in big games.

We will despise this contract in a year or two just like we do with Sobotka and Berglund. Zero doubt about that.

So who instead of Perron?

 

[Blueston]

So who instead of Perron?

Excellent question. I was not thrilled when I saw we had signed him, but if we wanted to add a middle 6 winger who else out there as FA can match his production (even assuming last year was a fluke)? And would they sign for 4x4? He can play either side, up or down lineup, likes St. Louis, we could do worse. Not sexy or exciting, but much better than another situation where we frantically audition kids who aren't ready and end up with only 1 productive line like last year.

 

[rumrokh]

Check me out, naysayers. Even if the Blues keep Sobotka and not a single rookie sees icetime all season (Thomas joins the Mobile Infantry to fight the Bugs), Perron and Bozak mean Sobotka is 100% off the powerplay.

 

[Blanick]

I am actually surprised by the negativity surrounding this signing. I never thought of Perron as a possibility before today due to him being cut loose by the organization twice already. He must really love St. Louis to sign here again. He is a solid middle six forward. Do I think he is going to repeat his 70 point pace here in St. Louis? Nope but he has pretty consistently produced at a 45-50 point pace throughout his career. The AAV is actually pretty low considering the year he had last year, I don't love the 4 years but that was probably necessary to keep the AAV so low. Most importantly though he is a much needed RHS added to our lineup. This was a good pick up by Doug Armstrong.

 

[mk80]

I am actually surprised by the negativity surrounding this signing. I never thought of Perron as a possibility before today due to him being cut loose by the organization twice already. He must really love St. Louis to sign here again. He is a solid middle six forward. Do I think he is going to repeat his 70 point pace here in St. Louis? Nope but he has pretty consistently produced at a 45-50 point pace throughout his career. The AAV is actually pretty low considering the year he had last year, I don't love the 4 years but that was probably necessary to keep the AAV so low. Most importantly though he is a much needed RHS added to our lineup. This was a good pick up by Doug Armstrong.

Blanick you and I must be reading the same book, because once again I say we are on the same page here.

 

[simon IC]

So who instead of Perron?

Grabner would have been better.

 

[The Note in MI]

Grabner would have been better.

Not sure what makes you say that? Nothing about Grabner belongs in a top 6. At least Perron can fake his way into a top 6 spot.

 

[EastonBlues22]

I am actually surprised by the negativity surrounding this signing. I never thought of Perron as a possibility before today due to him being cut loose by the organization twice already. He must really love St. Louis to sign here again. He is a solid middle six forward. Do I think he is going to repeat his 70 point pace here in St. Louis? Nope but he has pretty consistently produced at a 45-50 point pace throughout his career. The AAV is actually pretty low considering the year he had last year, I don't love the 4 years but that was probably necessary to keep the AAV so low. Most importantly though he is a much needed RHS added to our lineup. This was a good pick up by Doug Armstrong.

I think the reaction is largely based on the strong optics that things are staying the same when one's hopes are largely tied to something changing.

I get that, and I think the visceral reaction will come around a bit in the coming weeks.

 

[Novacain]

Grabner would have been better.

Grabner isn't as good as Perron, and also isn't a RHS, which we desperately needed more of.

 

[trevorftw]

Love dp57. Only hat trick I've seen in person. Good for at least one highlight reel goal per season. Great pest, and honestly more of a netfront guy than anyone else on our current roster. Always seems to take Berglund to another level.

Something a lot of people are overlooking with Perron and bozak is we just got two more shootout scorers.

 

[Brian39]

Assuming there isn't crazy trade protection in the last 2 years of this contract, I love this deal. If Fabbri blows his knee again or is no longer an NHL player, Perron can be our 2LW and keep Steen on the 3rd line like everyone wants. If we want to tie Steen to Bozak, Perron could be an offensively gifted player next to Thomas to help his development. If Kyrou/Thompson/Kostin are all not ready to play 2RW, he has demonstrated that he can be a 40-45 point guy on the RW. If Fabbri and one of Kyrou/Thompson/Kostin can handle 2nd line duty, then our 3rd line is suddenly top 10 in the NHL with Perron, Thomas and Steen. This signing makes Sobotka completely expendable and is objectively an upgrade from what we had. Assuming regression to his normal 40-45 point range, this contract will be exceedingly moveable if he is expendable/redundant by the time we actually need the cap space. He's a RHS which we desperately need and his willingness/ability to be a net front presence should help one of the two PP units. Finally, for everyone worrying about the PK without Stastny/Brodz, he was a pretty decent penalty killer for us in the past and logged over a minute per night shorthanded in 2016/17.

That's a hell of a lot of positives. I get that he doesn't have that extra playoff gear, but I feel like people are ignoring that he had 9 points in 15 playoff games. 8 of those were assists and it is clear that he won't be a goal scorer in the playoffs. But he was absolutely not a ghost for Vegas in the first 3 rounds. He had a bad Final, just like that entire team. I think the playoff disappearing act is being overblown and doesn't outweigh the gigantic list of boxes he checks otherwise. If/when this team is truly a contender, it will be beacause we have 6 other forwards more important than Perron. I haven't seen anything to suggest that Perron can't adequately fill a 3rd line role in the playoffs. If Fabbri and the rest of the youth aren't good enough to force our offseason RW into a supplemental piece, we weren't going to be contenders this year no matter who we got.

I still would have preferred Tyler Johnson, but if the cost of that had to include Kyrou, Ed or Dunn then Perron is the infinitely better choice IMO.