NHL Rumors: Contract Talks Didn't Start Well Between Perron & Blues

The St. Louis Blues are trying to bring back as many of their players as they can from the 2021-22 season, the most important one being David Perron. Jeremy Rutherford, Blues writer for The Athletic, wrote that the initial offer to Perron was a two-year deal at a much lower salary than Perron expected.

It's both understandable by the Blues and insulting to the player to get an offer that isn't anywhere near where he was hoping for. The Blues are trying to hold onto most of their team, as they were very deep up front and strong throughout. They don't have much money to work with and have to also think about next offseason when Ryan O'Reilly, Vladimir Tarasenko, and Ivan Barbashev are UFAs and Jordan Kyrou, Robert Thomas, Alexei Toropchenko, and Logan Brown are all RFAs.

Perron definitely earned a payday after his performance not only in the regular season, but playoffs as well. He finished the season with 27 goals, 57 points, 11 power-play goals, and 26 power-play points in 67 games while recording nine goals and 13 points in 12 playoff games. At Perron's age and still playing at a high level of hockey, he will be able to get at least a four-year deal around where he's hoping for, even if the contract is front-loaded.

He is a very consistent player and has an underrated shot. If the Blues are prioritizing their future over bringing back one of their impactful top-six players in Perron and not planning on spending the money to keep him, both parties should be fine with going their separate ways. The Blues have many talented forwards, as nine of them scored 20 goals this season, while Perron would be able to earn a deserved payday and security on another team. Details have yet to be released as to exactly how much Perron wants and how much he was offered, but his asking price should be higher than the $4 million AAV he was earning on his last deal with the Blues.