Blues defenseman Scott Perunovich played in his 74th career NHL game (including playoffs) on Saturday, a milestone that typically wouldn’t carry any significance. However, as Matthew DeFranks of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch points out, Perunovich’s participation in that game means that he will be a restricted free agent this summer instead of a Group Six unrestricted free agent. Generally, the threshold for skaters is 80 but since the 2020-21 season was only 56 games, that number was reduced. Perunovich is still looking for his first career NHL tally but does have 15 assists in 48 games this season. With him retaining RFA status, St. Louis now has an additional two years of team control as Perunovich won’t be eligible for unrestricted free agency until 2025.
More from St. Louis:
- Winger Jake Neighbours is having a breakout season, notching 26 goals through 74 games, good for a share of the team lead with Pavel Buchnevich. He’s eligible to sign a contract extension this summer as he’ll be entering the final year of his entry-level deal in 2024-25. In a mailbag column, Jeremy Rutherford suggests (subscription link) that the 22-year-old might be inclined to try to wait out signing a new deal until after next season. If he feels that his performance this year is a sign of things to come, Neighbours would certainly have more leverage if he waits it out although it wouldn’t be surprising to see the Blues take a run at trying to sign him when they’re eligible to in July.
- Earlier this month, the Blues signed 2023 first-round pick Theo Lindstein to an entry-level contract. In doing so, they gained the flexibility to assign the defenseman to their AHL affiliate for next season instead of returning him to Brynas in Sweden’s Allsvenskan level. However, as Rutherford points out in a separate mailbag (subscription link), the team has not yet made a determination on where to assign him for next season. Lindstein had 15 points in 49 games with Brynas and added eight more in seven World Junior appearances.
- With the University of Minnesota being eliminated by Boston University last night, Jimmy Snuggerud now needs to decide if he’ll return for his junior year or turn pro. Speaking with reporters postgame including The Rink Live’s Jess Myers (Twitter link), the 19-year-old indicated he had “no clue” about his next move just yet. Snuggerud was the 23rd pick back in 2022 and saw his numbers dip from 50 points to 34 this season although he still managed 21 goals in just 39 games while also picking up eight points in six World Junior contests.
Just puzzling how with the playoffs still a possibility, the Blues lose 4-0 at home to the Sharks last night. Bizarre season the Blues had.