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Scott Perunovich

Metro Notes: Kreider, Ferschweiler, Nikishin, Pelech, Romanov

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Despite being mentioned in trade rumors for much of the season, New York Rangers forward Chris Kreider spent the entire year in the Big Apple. Don’t expect Kreider’s name to disappear from the trade wire as The Fourth Period reports the Rangers will again look to move their veteran sniper this offseason.

He’ll become mildly more tradeable this summer, having two years and $13MM remaining on his contract. Still, factoring in multiple injuries from this season and the declining foot speed, it’s difficult to say how much interest Kreider will generate.

The Rangers will technically have the opportunity to retain salary if they desire, but it’s likely a non-starter from their perspective. As the article in The Fourth Period mentions, the primary reason for moving Kreider is to shed salary in preparation for K’Andre Miller and William Cuylle’s new deals.

Additional happenings from the Metropolitan Division:

  • As the 2024-25 season closes, the pursuit of a new head coach is ramping up for the Philadelphia Flyers. In that vein, Kevin Kurz of The Athletic reports that Pat Ferschweiler, the head coach of the NCAA’s Western Michigan University Broncos, could be on the Flyers’ radar this summer. Ferschweiler has been the Broncos’ head coach for the last four seasons and recently guided the team to its first National Championship in program history. He’s only had one NHL opportunity in his professional coaching career, being the assistant coach for the Detroit Red Wings from 2015-16 to 2018-19.
  • The Carolina Hurricanes should only be a few days away from their top defensive prospect joining the team for their postseason run. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported that Alexander Nikishin has officially received approval for his work visa in the United States. That leaves an appointment at the U.S. Embassy in Istanbul on his to-do list before being allowed to play for the Hurricanes. In a perfect world, Carolina would likely want Nikishin to get an NHL game under his belt before the playoffs start, but that’s unlikely to be the case given that their regular season will conclude on April 17.
  • Although the New York Islanders failed to make the playoffs for the second time in four years, they received positive news on the injury front this morning. Stefen Rosner of The Hockey News reported that despite entering concussion protocol after leaving Sunday’s game due to a hit from New Jersey Devils forward Paul Cotter, defenseman Adam Pelech “is fine” and suited up for the Islanders tonight against the Capitals. Pelech is no stranger to injuries, having only appeared in 60 of New York’s 81 contests this season.
  • Unfortunately, not every usual defenseman for the Islanders suited up in tonight’s contest, as the team shared just before puck drop that defenseman Alexander Romanov is out of the lineup due to illness. Depth defender Scott Perunovich is filling the Romanov-sized void this evening. He’s tallied three assists in nine games for the Islanders since being acquired from the St. Louis Blues on January 27th.

Islanders Acquire Scott Perunovich From Blues

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The Islanders acquired defenseman Scott Perunovich from the Blues on Monday in exchange for a conditional 2026 fifth-round pick, both clubs announced.

Perunovich, 26, slots into the Islanders’ blue line after righty Ryan Pulock landed on injured reserve this morning. His acquisition signals the latter is expected to miss significant time, so he and recent free-agent signing Tony DeAngelo now slot in to relieve the void left by Pulock and Noah Dobson, who’s week-to-week with a right leg injury.

While the 5’10” puck mover is a left shot, he has experience playing on his offside. New York will rely on that experience and presumably utilize him on the right, giving them another offensive option in addition to the historically one-dimensional DeAngelo.

A 2018 second-round pick, Perunovich was once one of the most highly-regarded defense prospects in the game. But after winning the Hobey Baker Award with 40 points in 34 games for Minnesota-Duluth in 2019-20, he missed his entire rookie campaign with St. Louis after undergoing left shoulder surgery. Wrist surgery limited him to 19 games with the Blues the following year, and yet another shoulder injury cut into his 2022-23 campaign. Throughout those three seasons, injuries limited Perunovich to just 58 games with the Blues and AHL Springfield.

While wholly healthy for the first time since college in 2024-25, Perunovich hasn’t found much playing time. He’s been a healthy scratch for about half the season, including the last nine games, and has only averaged 14:37 per game when in the lineup. He has six points and nine shots on goal in 24 games, adding 21 blocks and nine hits. The acquisition of Philip Broberg via offer sheet this summer as a young puck-moving lefty largely made Perunovich a redundancy heading into the campaign, so seeing him on the move is not entirely surprising.

He’s far from being the two-way presence Pulock is for the Isles, but he more accurately fills the void left by depth defender Mike Reilly, who remains on LTIR after undergoing heart surgery. He has 29 points in his 97 career NHL appearances but will be in line for a bump in minutes on Long Island, which both sides hope will boost his production.

Perunovich signed a one-year, $1.15MM extension with the Blues last June to avoid hitting restricted free agency. He’ll be an RFA again at season’s end and is arbitration-eligible.

Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.

Central Notes: Hall, Lehkonen, Drouin, Perunovich

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It’s not common for a 10-plus-year NHL veteran to have a strong desire to play for a rebuilding club, especially without having played in a Stanley Cup Final. According to an interview with Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff, the Chicago Blackhawks’ Taylor Hall has different ideas about his future.

If Hall has his way he would be with the Blackhawks’ organization through their rebuild and into their next competitive window. Seravalli quoted Hall as saying, “I’d love to stay and be part of this. I’ve moved around quite a bit, maybe more than I would’ve liked or planned at the start of my career. But it’s brought me and led me to some amazing people, and I’ve had a lot of great life experiences, and that’s made me grow up a lot. In saying that, I like it here, I like the organization. Most of all, I really like this team and the group of guys we have. I think I can be a good piece for us as we keep growing“.

It makes sense for Hall to finally settle down with an organization for the twilight years of his career. The former first-overall pick of the 2010 NHL Draft has played for six organizations throughout his 15-year NHL career five of which coming in the past six seasons. He’s only in his age-33 season meaning he could theoretically be a part of Chicago’s reemergence into contention depending on the pace of their rebuild with phenom Connor Bedard.

Other Central notes:

  •  Evan Rawal of The Denver Gazette shared a few injury updates regarding Colorado Avalanche forwards Artturi Lehkonen and Jonathan Drouin. Lehkonen, who has not played since Colorado’s series-clinching loss to the Dallas Stars in Round Two of the 2024 Stanley Cup playoffs, is continuing to recover from offseason shoulder surgery. He is meeting with doctors once the team returns to Denver later this week and is hopeful he will be cleared. Drouin is working his way back from an upper-body injury and will be re-examined once the team returns from their three-game road trip.
  • According to Lou Korac of The Hockey News, St. Louis Blues defenseman Scott Perunovich is expected to make his season debut tomorrow night. Perunovich is buried on the Blues’ depth chart to start the season thanks to offseason additions Ryan Suter and Pierre-Olivier Joseph. He managed 17 assists last year in St. Louis in 52 games played but there were considerable concerns with his play on the defensive side of the puck. Perunovich may find himself on the waiver wire in the coming days when Nick Leddy is activated so his inclusion in tomorrow’s lineup could be interpreted as an informal tryout.

West Notes: Broberg, Pospisil, Abbotsford

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There is no clear outline of how the Edmonton Oilers will approach the offer sheets signed by forward Dylan Holloway and defenseman Philip Broberg earlier this week. Still, some pundits in the media are already theorizing about their futures in St. Louis. Jim Matheson of the Edmonton Journal reported earlier today that if Broberg were to become a player for the Blues organization eventually, he would supplant Scott Perunovich on the second pairing and play next to Justin Faulk.

The main problem with this hypothesis is that Perunovich has arguably been the better defender over the last two years and has grown as a prospect through the Blues farm system. Perunovich has accrued 23 assists in his first 73 games in the NHL while Broberg has only potted 13 points in total through his first 81 games. Perunovich also appears to be the better defensive player at face value and in the advanced statistics with his 91.2% on-ice save percentage compared to Broberg’s 87.3%. In Broberg’s defense, he has been rarely utilized thus far by Edmonton as he’s only managed to average 12:42 of ice time per game with Perunovich receiving nearly three minutes more on average.

Head coach Drew Bannister should have plenty of flexibility on the blue line even if the Oilers decide to match Broberg’s contract. St. Louis already has nine defensemen signed to one-way contracts for the 2024-25 NHL season; with five being left-handed shots. Broberg would give the Blues a total of 10 one-way contracts on the back end with six left-handed shooting defensemen.

Other West notes:

  • Calgary Flames forward Martin Pospisil is looking to continue his impressive run with Team Slovakia — this time in the 2026 Winter Olympics (Article Link). Later this month, Slovakia will host a three-game round-robin tournament against Austria, Hungary, and Kazakhstan with the winner receiving an automatic bid for the Olympic Games in Milan. The Slovakian Olympic team will likely rely heavily on Pospisil as he is coming off an impressive international tournament earlier this summer. In the 2024 World Championships, Pospisil scored three goals and seven points in seven games and helped Slovakia reach the playoff round for the first time since 2022.
  • The Abbotsford Canucks, the AHL affiliate of the NHL’s Vancouver Canucks, made several staff hires today according to a team announcement. The team brought in Harry Mahesh as an assistant coach, Andrew Shaw as a video coach, and Ross MacEluch as an assistant athletic therapist. Mahesh is the most significant hire of the group as he previously served as a development coach for the Toronto Maple Leafs last year.

Evening Notes: Perunovich, Condors, Savoie

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St. Louis Blues defenseman Scott Perunovich seems set up for a make-or-break season after spending the first three years of his pro career dealing with what seemed like neverending injuries. Forced absences have held Perunovich to just 73 appearances, and 23 assists through his entry-level contract. But despite what’s seemed like years of bad luck in St. Louis, Perunovich shared with Jeremy Rutherford of The Athletic that he wouldn’t want to play anywhere else. He said, “I want to succeed in the league, but the team I want to succeed with the most is St. Louis… They drafted me. Every other team looked over me and they’ve always had confidence in me. This is where I want to succeed, and I’ve never not thought that for a second.”

Perunovich explained how he’s changing his approach after a hardy year with the Blues lineup, adding that he’s hoping to think less and shoot more. Those certainly seem like timely changes as Perunovich approaches his 75th NHL game, still searching for his first career goal. And while goal-scoring has never been Perunovich’s forte, he did flash much more offensive upside in college, where he seemed much more confident in skating the puck across the red line and joining the offensive rush. He’s been much more pass-first at the professional level, though he’s improved his poise in sitting with the puck and waiting for opportunities to open up.

A strong start to the year could quickly earn Perunovich top-pair minutes, with Torey Krug facing injury and little competition coming from Nick Leddy or Pierre-Olivier Joseph. That could give Perunovich the groundwork for a breakout season, though he’ll need to first win out the battle for ice time.

Other notes from around the hockey world:

  • The AHL’s Bakersfield Condors have hired Adam Krug as an assistant coach and Kelly Guard as a goaltending coach. Krug has spent the last decade coaching the NCAA D-III Men’s team at Adrian College, having previously captained Adrian during two seasons of his own playing career. Krug took the team to unprecedented heights, including their first D-III championship in 2022 and a second-place finish in 2023. Adrian has developed into a powerhouse of D-III hockey and a major supporter of collegiate club hockey as a whole, with their ACHA D-II team winning a championship in 2021 and also finishing second in 2023. Meanwhile, Kelly Guard moves to Bakersfield after spending 12 years as the goalie coach of the WHL’s Prince Albert Raiders. He’s overseen some impressive goalie seasons in that span – including Ian Scott’s .932 save percentage in 49 games of the 2018-19 season. He’ll look to carry that momentum into the pro level while Krug adjusts to a big jump in competition as Bakersfield makes two interesting, potentially high-impact hires.
  • Former Oilers forward prospect Carter Savoie is heading overseas on a one-year contract with Liiga’s TPS, per a team announcement. Savoie, 22, didn’t receive a qualifying offer from Edmonton upon the expiration of his entry-level contract last month. The older brother of new Oilers prospect Matthew Savoie, whom they acquired via trade from the Sabres after non-tendering Carter, recorded 18 goals and 33 points in 109 games with AHL Bakersfield in parts of the last three seasons but never received an NHL call-up. Edmonton selected him 100th overall in the 2020 draft.

Blues Sign Scott Perunovich To One-Year Extension

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The Blues have gotten defenseman Scott Perunovich under contract for the 2024-25 season, per a team announcement. His one-year extension carries a cap hit of $1.15MM.

Perunovich, 25, managed to stay mostly healthy this season for the first time in a while. He stayed on the NHL roster all season and made 54 appearances, his most since his junior days while recording 17 assists and a +1 rating. It was his second NHL season after logging 19 games of action in 2021-22 and spending all of his injury-plagued 2022-23 in the minors.

While the fact that Perunovich has no goals through 73 career NHL games may be eye-opening, he was once the top offensive defense prospect in the organization. And while 25 is a bit old to still bear the “prospect” title, that might still be the case. Perunovich has been electric during his assignments to the minors, putting up 42 points in only 39 games with AHL Springfield over the past three seasons.

Injuries have had just a catastrophic effect on his development. After winning the Hobey Baker Award during his final season with the University of Minnesota-Duluth in 2019-20, a left shoulder injury cost him all of 2020-21. He started 2021-22 off healthy, but left wrist surgery ended his season halfway through. Yet another shoulder injury sustained in training camp in 2022 delayed his debut last season to late February.

That said, a $1.15MM cap hit quite literally carries zero risk for the Blues if he can’t hold onto an NHL spot next season for whatever reason. It’s the richest allowable cap hit that can be buried in the minors without penalty. But the diminutive yet dynamic left-shot defender should be in line for an everyday spot in the lineup next season after putting up solid playmaking numbers in his limited minutes.

The Hibbing, Minnesota native was set to become a restricted free agent with arbitration rights this summer. He’ll carry that same designation again in 2025 when his new deal expires.

Blues Notes: Perunovich, Neighbours, Lindstein, Snuggerud

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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.

Snapshots: Buchnevich, Bogosian, Rosen

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The St. Louis Blues aren’t actively shopping winger Pavel Buchnevich but they are hearing out offers, shares team insider Jeremy Rutherford with The Athletic. Rutherford adds that any deal would likely start at a first-round draft pick and may even need two first-round picks to get done. That’s a steep price for an older veteran with just one year left on his contract but Buchnevich may earn it. He’s been one of St. Louis’ most productive players since joining them in 2021-22, totaling 186 points in 189 games with the club. That includes his 43 points in 53 games this season, a mark that ranks second on the Blues and puts Buchnevich on pace to break 65 points in his third season in a row.

Buchnevich became a pillar of the St. Louis offense quickly, scoring a career-high 76 points in 73 games during the 2021-22 season – a year that saw the Blues score their most goals in one season since 1981-82. He’s maintained that strength through the last two seasons, despite St. Louis’ scoring coming a bit slower, and even adapted to playing a top-line centerman role for parts of last season. His adaptability is evident, and that – as well as a chance to get a head start on contract negotiations – could be enough to convince playoff teams to pay a high premium at the Deadline.

Other notes from around the league:

  • The St. Louis Blues are expected to send down Calle Rosen to make room to activate Scott Perunovich off of injured reserve, per team reporter Matthew DeFranks. Perunovich is returning from a lower-body injury that’s held him out of the team’s last seven games. He will continue his search for his first goal of the season, and his NHL career, recording 12 assists through 31 games this season.
  • Minnesota Wild Defenseman Zach Bogosian is likely to miss at least a week of action after exiting the team’s Wednesday night game with an upper-body injury, per team reporter Michael Russo. Bogosian appears to have suffered the injury after blocking a shot from Nikolaj Ehlers, leaving the game after his shift. Bogosian has scored one goal and nine points in 44 games this season, serving a comfortable role in Minnesota’s top-four. His absence will likely lend way to Declan Chisholm or Jonathon Merrill gaining a larger role, though the Wild also have Alex Goligoski serving as a healthy scratch.

Snapshots: Perunovich, Fehervary, Dowd, Grant

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St. Louis Blues head coach Drew Bannister has named defenseman Scott Perunovich as a game-time decision for the team’s Thursday evening game against the New York Islanders, per team reporter Matthew DeFranks. Perunovich has been out since January 28th, nursing a lower-body injury that earned him a retroactive injured reserve placement earlier in the week. This season has marked Perunovich’s official rookie year in the NHL, although he did play in 19 games during the 2021-22 season. But persistent injury, including pre-season shoulder surgery, limited Perunovich to just 22 AHL games last season. He has 12 points, all assists, in 31 games this season. The scoring brings his career totals up to 18 points in 50 combined games, with Perunovich still searching for his first NHL goal.

Perunovich has undergone three different surgeries since the 2021-22 season. The constant rehab has kept him from fully finding his footing at the top level, though he’s flashed signs of strong potential. Perunovich won the NCCA’s Hobey Baker Memorial Award in the 2019-20 season, the league’s top honor. He earned the award after scoring four goals and 40 points in 34 games with the University of Minnesota-Duluth, serving in an all-purpose role for the Bulldogs that saw him play top-pair minutes, special teams, and forward at a few points in the season. Perunovich made his professional debut in the subsequent season and has since totaled 42 points across 39 AHL games, adding to his totals in the NHL. His return likely bumps Calle Rosen out of the lineup. Rosen has played in St. Louis’ last six games, recording just one point, taking over the role of sixth-man from Tyler Tucker.

The Blues will need to send one of Tucker or Rosen back to the minor leagues in order to activate Perunovich off of injured reserve. They could also send down extra forwards Sammy Blais or Nikita Alexandrov, if they prefer hanging on to extra defensive depth. That could be the case, as St. Louis is also down Justin Faulk, who was moved onto long-term injured reserve on Tuesday.

Other notes from around the league:

  • Washington Capitals defenseman Martin Fehervary has been moved to injured reserve with a lower-body injury sustained in the team’s February 17th game. He was previously announced as week-to-week with the injury and will now be required to miss at least one week of action. Fehervary has appeared in 47 games this season, scoring two goals and 12 points while averaging roughly 19 minutes of action a night.
  • Fellow Washington Capital Nic Dowd is day-to-day with an upper-body injury and won’t travel with the team on their two-game road trip to Florida. His next opportunity to play will be Washington’s Monday matchup against the Ottawa Senators, per team reporter Bailey Johnson. Aliaksei Protas is expected to step into a center role in Dowd’s absence, with call-up Pierrick Dubé filling Protas’ role on the wing. Dubé, 23, will be making his NHL debut in Dowd’s absence. He has 24 goals and 34 points in 50 AHL games this season.
  • Veteran NHL forward Derek Grant has signed a one-year extension with the ZSC Lions of the National League, Switzerland’s top league. Grant, 33, is in his first season in Switzerland after not landing an NHL deal this summer. He has 13 goals and 30 points through his first 45 games in Switzerland. Grant spent the last 10 seasons in the NHL, playing with seven different organizations. He totaled 427 career games in that span, netting 57 goals and 132 points. His career-year came in 2021-22, when he scored a career-high 15 goals and 29 points in 71 games with the Anaheim Ducks.

St. Louis Blues Make Several Roster Moves

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In a flurry of roster activity, the St. Louis Blues have recalled forward Zachary Bolduc from their AHL affiliate, the Springfield Thunderbirds, while also placing defenseman Justin Faulk on the team’s Long-Term Injured Reserve, with defenseman Scott Perunovich being placed on the injured reserve.

It will not change much in the short-term for the Blues’ roster, as they’ve been without Faulk for the last 10 games and Perunovich for the last seven. Factoring in the requirements to return from both the LTIR and IR, both players are eligible to be reinstated to the active roster whenever they are healthy enough to return.

The most exciting part of this transaction for St. Louis will be seeing the eventual debut of Bolduc. A first-round selection of the Blues back in the 2021 NHL Draft, Bolduc is in his first season within the Blues organization.

Although a member of Rimouski Oceanic during his draft year, Bolduc became a member of the Quebec Remparts as soon as the 2021-22 season under the tutelage of head coach Patrick Roy. Over 126 games in Quebec, Bolduc experienced a great deal of success, scoring 105 goals and 209 points over the regular season.

Outside of the regular season, Bolduc became a solid playoff performer as well, scoring 19 goals and 31 points over 30 postseason games for the Remparts, helping the team to a Memorial Cup championship in 2022-23. Now transitioning to professional hockey, Bolduc has not maintained the same degree of offensive production in his rookie season, managing only eight goals and 23 points over 48 games for Springfield this year.

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