David Perron shares how he feels after being let go by the St. Louis Blues
The NHL's salary cap often forces teams into moves they'd rather not make. Free agency often costs teams valuable players simply due to financial purposes. That's exactly what happened to David Perron and the St. Louis Blues.
The salary cap was the single driving reason for the Blues losing fan favourite David Perron. The 34-year-old was drafted by the St Louis Blues, and after a few pit stops with a few other teams, Perron would return to St. Louis for his third tenure.
Unfortunately for Perron the Blues didn't have the cap space to make a contract offer to him and the two parted ways. Perron ended up signing a two-year, $9.5 million contract with Detroit, ending his third stint in St. Louis.
Last Friday, as Perron and his kids went skating and twirled around the rink, the kids asked dad a question:
Perron: Well, I don't have any other gear yet.
Before they left St. Louis Perron stopped by a local sports store and felt weird just looking around at the merchandise.
Perron shared with The Athletic that he bought his son a Red Wings hat at the store, his first item since leaving the Blues.
I'm still in a little bit of shock that it didn't work out, just kind of the way the years went. I guess if you see my performance declining or something, then you're like, �Maybe there's something there.' That's still like raw to me. I had to let some of the dust settle and I guess I still have to let that happen."
After the performance, the loyalty, winning the Stanley Cup, leaving, coming back, leaving, coming back, all that combined, I just felt like if you wanted someone, you make it happen, you find a way. There's no excuse there for me. That's what is really hurting me for sure. I'm not saying it's going to be the right or wrong decision from the team perspective, but I just kind of felt like I commanded and earned that a little bit.
I just felt like that was going to be an easy extension to get done over the summer. I wasn't going to be crazy. I just wanted something where I felt respected. I see my perspective, I don't see necessarily everything, but I truly believe in life when you want to make something happen, you do. I'm not trying to prove a point. That's just life if you want to get it done, you get it done.
The Red Wings are a team that I think are ready to take the next step in their evolution and I wanted to be a part of that.
