St. Louis Blues: 5 moves that got them to the Stanley Cup Final

5. David Perron

Acquired: Well, it’s a long story. But most recently he was signed as a free agent on July 1, 2018.

David Perron had an absolutely meteoric rise in the hockey world as a teenager. In 2004-05, as a 16-year-old, Perron was playing Midget C hockey in Quebec. Somehow, he was playing in the National Hockey League while still a teenager just three years later.

The Sherbrooke native jumped from there to the Quebec Junior AAA level and then was off to the Lewiston Maineiacs of the QMJHL a season later. Following an excellent solo campaign with Lewiston that included a trip to the Memorial Cup, Perron was a first round pick by the Blues in 2007.

Just three years after leading a Midget C team, Perron was suiting up for the St. Louis Blues in one of the least likely NHL debuts of all time. He played six seasons in St. Louis before being dealt to the Edmonton Oilers. Edmonton shipped him to the Pittsburgh Penguins who sent him to the Anaheim Ducks.

Finally, Perron became a free agent in 2016 and signed a two year deal to return to the Blues. After scoring 46 points, he was claimed by the Vegas Golden Knights in the expansion draft. A 66 point season in Vegas led to him becoming a free agent again and a three year contract to return to St. Louis for a third tour of duty.

Perron rewarded the determination of the Blues management team to keep bringing him back. he scored 23 goals and 46 points in 57 games this season. He missed 25 games but was still the third highest goal scorer on the team and finished fourth in points.

When St. Louis was trailing 3-2 in their second round series with the Dallas Stars, Perron scored the game’s winning goal to send the series to Game 7. Perhaps that will be enough to convince the Blues they shouldn’t let him leave town a third time.