January 2, 2015

News/views: Penguins add Perron from Oilers

by Dejan Kovacevic • News/views • Tags: Penguins

BY DEJAN KOVACEVIC

News: The Penguins have acquired David Perron, the Oilers’ top goal-scorer last season with 28, for another winger, Rob Klinkhammer, and their 2015 first-round draft pick.

Views: Sign me up for grabbing a top-six winger without giving up a defense prospect.

David Perron had 28 goals last season in Edmonton but had slumped to just five this season. — GETTY

Perron, 26, is a 6-foot, 200-pound right-handed shot with silky hands and a shifty, upright skating style. He’s also the classic case of a talented player being beaten down by Edmonton’s epic failures as a franchise. Upon arrival last season, he continued to be the same prolific player he’d been over six seasons in St. Louis, but he was reduced to five goals, 14 assists and a minus-17 rating in 38 games this season. The list is long of such players, which is why the Oilers are the Oilers.

Perron’s pay is $4.25 million this season, $4.5 million next. The cap hit each season is $3,812,500. That explains Klinkhammer being sent out, as the Penguins are smacking their heads on the ceiling.

It’s crazy to applaud the Penguins ever giving up a first-round pick, given the alarming lack of depth in recent drafts. But the 2015 pick is shaping up as a very late one, given their current standing, and it’s preferable to trading away known commodities such as the young defensemen you can be sure the Oilers would have preferred.

Well done by Jim Rutherford.

Here are some Perron highlights from his big 2013-14 season:

51 Comments Newest to oldest

mkozak25

1-2-2015, 1:27 pm

Exactly my thoughts. And he's not a rental

Zico

1-2-2015, 1:29 pm

I agree, this deal makes sense for both sides.

ziggygreece

1-2-2015, 1:30 pm

how many yrs on perrons deal? DK how long for the comment updaye....update even i wold of corrected typos if i could

PlazMan

1-2-2015, 1:37 pm

According to Capgeek, Perron is signed for this year and next and carries a cap hit of 3,812,500.

Chris

1-2-2015, 1:35 pm

Pens are pretty tight against the cap. Any word if the Oilers retained some salary?

A. Lane

1-2-2015, 3:06 pm

Perron's cap hit is about the same as Dupuis, who is on LTIR, and if we assume that one of Martin/Ehrhoff is being replaced by a lower cost option next year, the cap should not be an issue.

PlazMan

1-2-2015, 1:36 pm

I don't like it, I LOVE IT!!! Excellent move GMJR!!!

seantcampbell3

1-2-2015, 1:40 pm

Excellent.

seantcampbell3

1-2-2015, 2:23 pm

It did cost us Philip Samuelsson because that's who we gave up for Klinkhammer.

1-2-2015, 5:51 pm

Sean: Philip Samuelsson does not have NHL caliber skating ability. We won't miss him.

Rocco

1-3-2015, 7:01 am

Agree with DJ. I found my love for Samuelsson had more to do with his last name then it did for his mobility, or lack thereof.

yinzer84

1-2-2015, 2:06 pm

Excellent trade. We didn't give up any young prospects! Definitely won this trade. Maybe now that select portion of Pens "fans" saying we should trade Pouliot for Taylor Hall will slink back into their holes and shut up about a trade that could never happen.

DerekR

1-2-2015, 2:08 pm

Incredible deal by Rutherford. While many won't like giving up a 1st round pick in a deep draft, a 1st rounder in the 20's probably has a 50/50 chance of panning out, and not for 2-5 years. With Perron, the Pens are getting a proven commodity.

Perron is a younger, more skilled Chris Kunitz. He hits, his stickhandling has been compared to "near Kovalev" levels at times. By getting him now, Rutherford avoids a bidding war at the deadline, gives him time to gel before the playoffs, and has a player locked up for next year.

Two thumbs up on this deal!

Jay Baileys

1-2-2015, 2:11 pm

Love it also the more I think about it, didn't give any young d up and got what should be a very productive guy. How fast you think he gets out of Edmonton?

Dodkong

1-2-2015, 2:19 pm

Glad they got a winger, but I have to disagree on the pick over the prospect.

With DK mentioning in the Insider that there is interest in retaining Erhoff, the blue space on the top club will still be limited. That means that more supposedly ready Dmen will be staying in the AHL.

Even if the pick is to be in the mid 20's or lower, there is still a possibility of a good pick. Heck, Maatta was 22nd and he's been doing pretty well.

And besides, keeping that D prospect and not having a first round pick continues to fail to address the lack of winger depth, in the case of half the team coming down with the measles next year.

Good trade, but I think it could have been better.

YouMeAndDupuis

1-2-2015, 2:32 pm

I'd rather have more established, closer to NHL ready, know-what-you-have type prospects than an unknown draft pick. I see your point, for sure, but we can still move those guys for more F help if needed. Pouliot or Harrington would have been a tough pill to swallow in this deal. And again, Perron is not a rental and young enough to be resigned. Malkin-Crosby-Hornqvist-Perron-Kapanen-(cough*Bennett*cough) potentially could be together for a while and that's quite good if you ask me.

Dodkong

1-2-2015, 2:40 pm

Yeah, if one of the D prospects were included in a trade, I'd want to see a bigger name coming back. Jordan Eberle was the guy I was hoping they could snag from Edmonton.

John Niespodzianski

1-2-2015, 3:09 pm

The D prospects are ammunition for additional moves at the deadline. Hard not to like adding a young, proven winger who is gritty but can also score, at a reasonable cap hit for the next 1 1/2 years. If this was the "big splash" of the season I could understand a tepid reaction, but my guess is that Trader Jim is not done... expect one more big deal at the deadline. Hopefully not involving Pouliot...

Eric P

1-2-2015, 5:27 pm

Perron is the best-case scenario result of a first round draft pick at the Pens position. You get him now (and will likely re-sign to an extension) instead of rolling the dice in the draft.

YouMeAndDupuis

1-2-2015, 2:23 pm

After a really nice offseason, I can finally say that Jim Rutherford really "gets it". He understands what the team needs and makes smart moves. The guy is 26, reasonable cap hit, immediately our most talented winger, great character, underrated amount of grit, and is not a rental. And we didnt give up Sutter, Pouliot, Harrington, etc to do it. The trickle down effect from this move (once healthy) will give us a really, really deep roster. Love this move.

1-2-2015, 6:10 pm

Agreed. Love this move.

If we move Martin or another "piece" (looking at you, Rob), we should be in good shape.

Mizery

1-2-2015, 2:24 pm

Love the trade. I would like to see one more for a top six before the playoffs so Kunitz can stay on the third line where he belongs. Love Kunitz but he looks a step slow this year and would be a perfect fit there. Trade for a top six forward might be difficult with the salary cap limitations though.

YouMeAndDupuis

1-2-2015, 2:28 pm

By keeping our young D and a possible re-signing of Ehrhoff we have some options. Trade Scuderi as a cap dump, or move Martin. Lots of options left on the table, imo.

A. Lane

1-2-2015, 3:27 pm

If Kunitz is moved to the 3rd line assuming Sutter is centering and Spalling would be on the 3rd line that is one expensive 3rd line.

While Kunitz is older and possibly is showing some signs of age he is scoring at the same rate at as Hornqvist, and the guy was 8th in the league in goals last year.

YouMeAndDupuis

1-2-2015, 2:26 pm

DK - FYI - I keep getting "Internal Server Errors" when I click on new links. Consistent on both Firefox and Chrome. Both the link and directly going to the main site. And this has happened numerous times not. After a few minutes it usually works after I refresh. Tried to email the webmaster but it returned my email for some reason. Just a heads up, not sure if other people have seen this issue.

Jay Baileys

1-2-2015, 2:41 pm

Was getting the same thing on my ipad

Dejan Kovacevic

1-2-2015, 2:51 pm

There are issues with the first two-three minutes after I tweet out a link. We're working VERY aggressively on this. Ultimately, the app notifications coming with the next build will offer the best solution.

YouMeAndDupuis

1-2-2015, 2:56 pm

Okay, great. I guess that just speaks to how eager I am to read your stuff :-)

I know you have done a tremendous job working out site bugs in the past, so not too concerned. Thanks for the update!

chethejet

1-2-2015, 2:28 pm

Nice calculated risk here. Getting a top 6 wing that the Pens need for a pick that may or may not pan out is fine with me. Crosby and Malkin need assets today. Plus he is here next year as well and certainly can be extended if he demonstrates his play is worthy. They keep Sutter as a center and with Bennett and Kunitz that can be a very good third line. Kunitz has to pick it up and actually like the chemistry here.

Robsdaddy

1-2-2015, 2:32 pm

If I'm not mistaken, the team is still employing the same scouting staff from the Shero regime. Considering their drafting history, giving up a first rounder for a known commodity is not a problem.

Chris M

1-2-2015, 2:45 pm

Love the highlights. Always seems to be right in front of the goalie, getting dirty goals.

mathew.calland

1-2-2015, 2:51 pm

Really excited about the deal. This is getting a guy at a low point of his value - there really is only upside here. The 1st round pick looks to be in the 20-30 range, and he isn't a rental; that he scored 57 points in 78 games on a team as bad as Edmonton last year is extremely promising. 26 years old, low shooting percentage (particularly compared to his career numbers), good possession numbers on a bad team - all of it screams 'upside'!
Also DerekR added some great points about the return of doing this deal now, as opposed to the trade deadline. I was wary when he first came here, but I must say - great job Rutherford!

dgething34

1-2-2015, 2:53 pm

The big question is does Goc give up the #57 sweater?

Karen

1-2-2015, 3:23 pm

Jim Rutherford has pleasantly surprised me with the great job he's done signing/trading players for the Pens. He didn't have the greatest reputation coming into the job but he's really done a great job to change that perception. I hope he keeps it up!

A. Lane

1-2-2015, 3:33 pm

I agree I am a bit skeptical of Rutherford, but it is hard to complain about any of moves outside Spalling. This most recent trade looks very good, addresses the biggest area of concern, giving up a draft pick and effectively Samuelsson, a lesser talent from where the Penguins are the deepest.

Jay Baileys

1-2-2015, 3:30 pm

His office is on top of the blue paint. He and hornqvist on the PP should do some damage.

News/views: Penguins add Perron from Oilers

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News/views: Penguins add Perron from Oilers

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