St. Louis Blues Scott Perunovich Not Eligible For 2020 Playoffs

The St. Louis Blues officially signed one of their prominent defensive prospects. He will have to wait until next season to play any games though.

The St. Louis Blues officially signed Scott Perunovich to his entry-level deal. In other news, water is wet.

Why this is making the news is odd. The team announced his deal back in March.

Perhaps when the league shut down, and with the collective bargaining agreement somewhat in the air, the deal was not quite official at the time the original announcement was made. That is the only thing that makes sense.

Really, the only news – if you want to call it that – regarding this signing is that Perunovich will not take part in the 2020 playoffs. He will not be eligible to join the Blues until the 2020-21 season, whenever that occurs.

In other news, the desert is dry. Again, this is no real revelation.

The Blues already have enough defensemen on their roster, with seven guys fighting for six spots. They also have Niko Mikkola, who played a handful of games, and also Jake Walman.

The chance of Perunovich making an actual game-night roster was next to zero. Now, the question that seems unanswered in my brain is whether Perunovich would still be allowed to practice.

He was one of the main names included in our list of players the Blues should invite to camp as part of the Black Aces, or whatever you want to call them this season. However, the wording in the official team press release makes that a little cloudy.

They say he will not be eligible to join the Blues until 2020-21. Does that mean join in any capacity or just not eligible to suit up for a game?

College guys get sent to the AHL to play a handful of games without sacrificing eligibility or a contract year. Why would practicing with the NHL team be any different. You could argue about having one less person to worry about in camp, regarding the virus, but that’s a different issue.

I still argue that if it is within the rules, Perunovich should get a call to camp. The experience would be good for him and having a minor league season for him next season is a complete unknown.

If they literally mean he cannot participate with the team in any capacity, that would be disappointing. The worry would be the Blues having to include him on next season’s roster just so it would not be a wasted year, if there is no AHL season.

Time will tell on all this. At least it seems all the i’s are dotted, t’s are crossed and the ink is dry.

*Update* Perunovich will not be allowed to practice.

“Scotty is going to sign his contract (to start) in 2021,” Doug Armstrong said in the Post-Dispatch. “He was in town and doing some work. He’s back in Minneapolis now and won’t be here for Phase 3 as he prepares to get ready for the main camp next season.”