"We knew we were going to lose a player that we didn't want to lose," Blues general manager Doug Armstrong said. "That's the nature of the expansion draft and the price for having an additional team in the NHL. We'd like to thank David for his time with the Blues and wish him the best of luck with the Golden Knights."
The immediate impact of Perron's departure to Vegas remains to be seen. Will Armstrong look outside the organization to find a replacement to join his Top 9? Or will young players like Ivan Barbashev, Zach Sanford or Dmitrij Jaskin be given a chance to fill the role?
"You want to have a long-term vision of what you're trying to do," Armstrong told stlouisblues.com in an exclusive interview last week. "Next year is an important year for us, as is every year. We want to come out of the gate strong, make the playoffs and have a long playoff run."
Perron, who returned to the Blues last summer on a two-year contract, played in all 82 games with St. Louis last season, posting 18 goals and 28 assists (46 assists). Previously, Perron played in six seasons for the Blues after being drafted by the club in the first round (26th overall) in 2007.
In a career that has spanned 652 regular season games, Perron has registered 159 goals, 219 assists (378 points).
