St. Louis Blues Extending Scott Perunovich Shows Lack Of Depth

The St. Louis Blues cleared up one offseason question when they re-signed Scott Perunovich to a one-year extension. However, that decision to keep the young defenseman tells more about the other players coming instead of being a true vote of confidence.

Overall, I have no big issue with Perunovich. He has been a disappointment compared to the excitement we had when the Blues drafted the Hobey Baker award winner.

Yet, the reality is we still don't know what kind of player Perunovich can be. Due to injuries, he has only played 73 games spread across two years. He missed the entire 2022-23 season while dealing with an injury and rehab and then still missed over 20 games in 2023-24.

So, why are the Blues bothering? The answer is there are two overall reasons, with one being a glass half empty kind of viewpoint.

On the one hand, the Blues are still hoping there is a bigger upside to the offensive defenseman. When the Blues drafted him, and even in his initial 19 games, there was hope he could develop into a power play quarterback. That potential, coupled with the lack of power play production from Torey Krug, gave Doug Armstrong all the incentive he really needed to re-sign the former Minnesota-Duluth Bulldog.

Springboarding off that, the reality is that you're not likely to find much in free agency for $1.15 million. So, the Blues are putting their chips on the hope this is a steal of a deal for a guy that might break out. That's looking at the bright side.

Unfortunately, even if you buy that idea, the reality is that this signing showcases the lack of defensive depth in the Blues' pipeline. There just isn't a guy coming through the system that was clearly ready to grab the proverbial brass ring.

Tyler Tucker is on a team-friendly deal and could still turn things around. However, he was all but handed a spot in 2023-24 and actually played his way out of the roster for much of the year.

Matthew Kessel showed flashes last season and pushed himself into the conversation, at the very least. Still, unless there's a big progression, he probably still seems like a third-pair defenseman at best.

The Blues do have a myriad of Swedish defenseman coming in. From an age standpoint, Anton Malstrom could be ready to make the jump to the big league, but we just don't know enough about any of these guys.

Maybe someone makes a huge jump the way Colton Parayko and Joel Edmundson did in 2015-16. Perhaps one of the Swedes, or someone completely out of the blue, grabs a roster spot in training camp and never lets it go.

Those kinds of things have, and can happen. It still seems unlikely.

This signing kind of feels like the Blues trusting the devil they know rather than the devil they don't know. Even if Perunovich doesn't improve, they at least know he can play at the NHL level right now and buy them some time for these other guys to develop.

It showcases that nobody else is ready right now. I don't dislike the deal or the money given, but when you re-up a player that has been an overall disappointment, it means you don't have anything better on the immediate horizon.