Today, the New York Islanders traded for St. Louis Blues defenseman Scott Perunovich. The Islanders had to send only a single asset to St. Louis in exchange: a conditional 2026 fifth-round pick. Frankly, the Islanders needed to make the move.

The New York Islanders, as an organization, are almost comically injured right now. As of Jan. 27th, they’re missing two goalies, seven defensemen and six forwards across their NHL & AHL clubs. In an attempt to fill the void left by recently injured defenseman Ryan Pulock, Islanders General Manager Lou Lamoriello has elected to look outside of the organization for help.

Perunovich, the 2020 Hobey Baker Award winner, has played 97 games in his NHL career. In those 97 games, he recorded 29 points and a +4 rating. He averages a little over 15 minutes of TOI per night. The move makes sense for both parties, as the Islanders desperately needed defensive help and Perunovich has been an excess good for St.Louis since they acquired veteran defenseman Cam Fowler. Perunovich hasn’t played for the Blues since Jan. 4th.

Perunovich, like fellow newcomer Tony DeAngelo, excels in five-on-five offense. Over the last three seasons, he ranks in the 67th percentile of all NHL defensemen based on his offensive contributions. He ranks eighth in the NHL in goals above replacement (GAR) per 60 minutes with .877, according to evolving-hockey.com. Although, Perunovich has played mostly on the third-pairing throughout his career. He never led the charge for St.Louis in any context. He usually faces weaker competition than higher-pairing defensemen. Still, his GAR contributions are promising and maybe he will thrive should he take a bigger role with the Islanders.

Perunovich is in the final year of a one-year, $1.15 million contract. He will be a 26-year-old restricted free agent (RFA) at the end of the season. He will be eligible for arbitration at that time, giving the Islanders further control over his future. The Islanders now possess about $2.5 million of cap space should Lamoriello feel like bringing in another piece. That number will only go up should the Islanders place Pulock on Long Term Injured Reserve (LTIR).

With two games before the Four-Nation Face-Off break, Lamoriello appears to be all-in on this team.

featured image courtesy of Jeff Curry-Imagn Images

Joey McAuliffe

Joey McAuliffe is a passionate Islander fan pursuing a Masters of Accounting in Buffalo, NY. His favorite player of all time is Jordan Eberle. He has followed the team closely since 2014, but he began regularly attending games during the 2006 season. Outside of hockey, Joey loves music and the Buffalo Bills.