St. Louis Blues David Perron Contract Actually On Par With League

Plenty of fans were shocked by the Blues bringing David Perron back this summer. However, his contract is looking more fair by the moment.

The St. Louis Blues and Doug Armstrong get plenty of criticism from us fans for some of the contracts he gives out. The one recently signed by David Perron is no different.

While Perron has plenty of fans, there were plenty that were either surprised or semi-disappointed the team brought him back. It was not so much because of the player, but more the terms he was signed to. A four-year deal at $4 million per season just seemed excessive at the time.

However, as we are learning, Armstrong has a better feel for the market than we give him credit for. We can still disagree with the terms, but there is no denying that the contract is on par with what others in the league are getting.

Elias Lindholm just signed a six-year contract with Calgary that will pay him $4.85 million per year. His career high is 17 goals and 45 points, neither of which came in the same season.

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Compare that with Perron who is just coming off a career year with 66 points. It is unrealistic to think he’ll get that many points again, but even in his last season with St. Louis he had 18 goals and 46 points. That’s not a bad deal to get him at almost $1 million cheaper and for two less years.

Another, slightly comparable deal is that of Thomas Vanek. Vanek only got one year from Detroit, but is making $3 million.

Clearly, the length is much more palatable. However, there is not a gigantic difference between $3 and $4 million. Ok, yes, there is a big difference for us regular people, but in terms of a salary cap, there is not a large difference.

Back to the point, Vanek is coming off a year where he scored a total of 24 goals and 56 points. Evander Kane just got $7 million and he has been a regular 40 point scorer, with 54 last season and a career best of 57.

The point of this is not to say any of these deals are right or wrong, but merely that the Blues are not way off base in what they offered. Perron’s market value was right around what he is going to be paid.

The same is true of past deals such as Paul Stastny or Jay Bouwmeester. It is only with time and performance, or lack thereof, that we can judge those contracts more harshly.

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Again, nobody needs to sit there and nod and say Perron is worth $4 million. To you he might not be. The market says he is and based on the production of similar players, $4 million is actually not that bad.

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