The Dallas Stars are set to get their newest winger in town soon, but David Perron still won’t be an instant plug-in.
According to Owen Newkirk of DLLS Sports, Perron is expected to arrive in Dallas tomorrow, which points to his visa issues being resolved after they kept him out of the team’s game tonight. Even with that hurdle cleared, he was never likely to be in the lineup right away.
Newkirk also passed along a quote from head coach Glen Gulutzan: “ He’ll have to skate a few times to get up to speed. Obviously, the veteran presence is there… how good he is along the walls, he’s heavy and hard on pucks, he’s got huge hockey IQ.
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Dallas finalized a one-year, prorated $850K deal with Perron yesterday. The 20-year veteran spent last season with both the Ottawa Senators and Detroit Red Wings, putting up 13 goals and 28 points in 65 games while finishing at -7.
Elsewhere in the West, the Seattle Kraken were missing Brandon Montour in their lopsided loss to the Florida Panthers tonight. The team said Montour is dealing with the same lower-body injury that forced him out of Seattle’s most recent game before it ended. His recovery is listed as day-to-day, so the absence shouldn’t stretch too far.
The St. Louis Blues also had a lineup absence, with Lou Korac of The Hockey News reporting that Ross Johnston is out tonight with a lower-body injury. In his first six games as a Blue, Johnston has one assist and seven PIM’s.
And in Vegas, the Golden Knights moved defenseman Ville Heinola back to the AHL’s Henderson Silver Knights for the second time since Thursday. Heinola is in the Silver Knights lineup tonight, which makes him eligible for recall tomorrow. He has one goal and four points in four AHL games this season.
In Other News...
Kraken Defense Just Hit A Breaking Point In Florida
The Krakens night in Florida quickly turned into damage control, with an 8-3 loss at Amerant Bank Arena exposing just how thin the blue line looked without two veteran defensemen. Seattle was already leaning on a patched-together lineup, and the task only got steeper once Florida started finding room in transition and around the crease.
Carter Verhaeghe and Sam Bennett each scored hat tricks for the Panthers, a brutal reminder of how much pressure Seattle was under from the opening stretch. Brandon Montour and Ryan Lindgren were out, and Josh Mahura, Cale Fleury and Ville Ottavainen dressed together for the first time this season, a new-look grouping that never really had a chance to settle in before the game got away. [Read more 🡒]
Kraken Get A Brandon Montour Scare They Cant Afford Right Now
The Krakens overtime loss to Tampa Bay on their East Coast trip was frustrating enough on the scoreboard, but the bigger concern came when Brandon Montour left early with an upper-body injury. Seattle is already juggling injuries on the blue line, including Ryan Lindgrens absence, so losing one of its key defensemen in the middle of a road swing is the kind of hit this group can ill afford.
With Montour sidelined, the club moved quickly and recalled Ty Nelson from Coachella Valley to give the defense some cover. For a team trying to stay afloat through a difficult stretch, the next few days will be about getting more clarity on Montour and hoping the injury turns out to be something Seattle can manage without losing him for long. [Read more 🡒]
Kraken Face A Costly Question In Search Of Blue-Line Help
Seattle has plenty to think about on its blue line, and the conversation inevitably drifts toward what it might take to fix it. One name that keeps surfacing is Shane Wright, whose value could give the Kraken a real lever if they decide to chase a defense upgrade rather than wait for internal solutions. It is the kind of trade-chip discussion that says as much about roster pressure as it does about one players standing, especially when a team is trying to get younger and sturdier on defense at the same time.
Simon Edvinsson is the sort of talent that would make sense in that conversation, at least on paper, because his upside fits the kind of long-term help Seattle wants. The complication is obvious: landing a player like that would not be simple, and the price would likely reach beyond a one-for-one swap. For a Kraken front office still sorting out its next move, the real question is whether the path to blue-line help runs through a bold deal, or whether the cost becomes too steep to justify. [Read more 🡒]