|
We're 30 games into the 2019-20 season and David Perron leads the St. Louis Blues in points. Do you think he's one of the most underrated players in the league?
Before we hop into this article, let's acknowledge the fact that David Perron loves playing for the St. Louis Blues. You're probably like, Yeah PJ, they just won the Cup—of course he does. I'm talking about 1 BC (before the Cup). Perron has left the St. Louis three times, but he's returned to Blues' organization all three times. This is where he wants to play. And can you blame him? Back when the Blues were in the mix of the whole John Tavares frenzy last summer, Doug Armstrong said something that really stuck with me. Tavares said he wasn't interested in playing for the Blues (haha you would've had a Cup you idiot). Here's what Army said about the whole situation: "If they're interested in your franchise, great. If not, you move on to the next guy. You look at a guy like Perron: One player doesn't want to play here (Tavares), another guy can't wait to get back here." This quote comes from an ESPN article back in July of 2018. There's a reason retired NHL players flock to St. Louis after their careers.—Steve Ott, Joe Vitale, Marty Brodeur, etc. We have a special organization and anyone who's exposed to it knows just how special it is. Perron is a player who didn't have the best start with St. Louis, but he's earned just about every fans' respect these past few seasons. When the Blues lost him to the Las Vegas Golden Knights, I don't think Blues fans were that bummed out. He was coming off a 40+ point season, but given the Blues' roster at the time, Blues fans thought DP57 was a replaceable asset. Then he proved all of us wrong when he exploded in Vegas. He had 50 assists and 66 points in his one year with the Golden Knights. He was an instrumental player in their deep playoff run that ended in the Stanley Cup Final. When we heard he was coming back, Blues fans freaked out. Perron had 23 goals and 23 assists last season when he returned to St. Louis. It certainly wasn't his best season, but those are some pretty solid numbers. This year is a completely different story. With 28 already, Perron is on track for a career high of 77 points. He leads the Blues and trails Ryan O'Reilly for the most assists on the team. Without a doubt, David Perron is the most improved player on the Blues' roster from last year's Cinderella story.
So the question stands... is he the most underrated player in the league? His offensive zone penalties may be enough for you to deny him of this title. Given his 112 points in 152 games these past two years, I think he's up there with the most underrated players in the league. Do you agree?
PJ Cox
@bluesbuzzblog |