The Oilers have added some forward depth, announcing that they have signed winger Brendan Perlini to a one-year, two-way contract. The deal will pay the NHL minimum of $750K while the AHL salary was not released.
It has been a bit of an odd journey for the 25-year-old so far. Drafted 12th overall by Arizona in 2014, Perlini showed some offensive upside early in his career, notching 14 goals in his rookie season and 17 in his sophomore campaign. A sluggish start in 2018-19 resulted in a trade to Chicago where he picked up a dozen more tallies in 46 games.
He was never really able to lock down a spot though and early in 2019-20, he was flipped to Detroit where the production dried up entirely as Perlini had just one goal and three helpers in 39 games, numbers that led to a non-tender last fall. Rather than accept a two-way deal, Perlini went overseas and signed with Ambri-Piotta in Switzerland where he had a decent campaign with nine goals and seven assists in 21 games, good enough for seventh in team scoring despite missing more than half the season.
Perlini is an interesting fit for Edmonton. The Oilers are a team that will need to fill out their roster with some cheaper contracts while having more on hand in the minors for recalls. There’s definitely enough a track record to suggest that Perlini could rebound offensively and be a serviceable contributor in the bottom six but with how things went in Detroit, it’s possible he rarely sees the ice for him. Still, there is rarely a bad two-way contract and this one certainly will carry a little bit of upside for Edmonton.
Perlini is a good argument against the eye test. He had the tools to be a poor man’s Jamie Benn and got off to a promising start in his career and then, nothing.
Not sure if he’s lazy or lacks hockey IQ or battle level or what exactly derailed him but, it wasn’t a lack of size or skill.
Did he ever really get top 6 minutes? Sometimes we see these Uber talented guys but lack of opportunity can stifle them. I realize in the NHL, opportunity has to be earned (Rob Schremp). Does anyone know if he was given a fair shake in the top 6?
He played for wings up and down. He played on pp on pk but 4 pts in 39 gms is telling
Yeah that’s not very encouraging…
Seems like he should have spent a few seasons in the AHL.
Kinda took a step back in his last year of junior, then only had 17 games in the minors before Arizona brought him up.
Still only 25. Maybe can learn to play more of checking role.
Decent signing
Big power forwards coming out of Juniors are always tricky to figure out how their game will translate to the NHL. In Juniors they can bully their way thru most opponents, but at the pro level they meet up with players just as big and strong as they are. Perlini, Ritchie, Virtanen, Crouse and others have all had that problem despite being high draft picks.
Another Coyotes draft bust
They must have an awful development system. Even a guy like Strome seriously he should’ve been a stud by now. He may never now. It makes you wonder is a team like Tampa that much better or is their player development far superior. Probably a bit of both. The extra time in the AHL seems to help these kids make a seamless transition to the show. I mean cmon you can’t tell me Brayden Point was just continuously overlooked. His development had something to do with it! I know his size was a deterrent.