St. Louis Blues forward David Perron might have a long a way to go before he recovers from concussion issues dating back to a Joe Thornton hit on Nov. 4, 2010. Still, it must have been uplifting for the team to see him back at the rink, even if he didn’t do much more than hold a press conference today.
The Blues report that Perron has been skating lightly for about a month now, allowing him to make enough progress to at least continue his rehab process in St. Louis at the moment. An even better barometer should come next week, when Perron will take a baseline concussion test. The team revealed that the plan will be for him to workout off the ice until he’s ready to practice with the Blues again.
There is no time table for Perron’s return just yet. Merely seeing old teammates again and meeting new Blues players lifted the young forward’s spirits today.
Who knows when Perron will be able to return, but he would fit in nicely with a team that might take a scoring-by-committee approach. While the Blues feature some formidable offensive weapons - particularly T.J. Oshie, David Backes and Chris Stewart - the thing that makes them an intriguing dark horse candidate is their offensive depth. Perron reached the 20-goal mark in 2009-10, so having him around would just drive the point home that much more.
In the same way that the Pittsburgh Penguins are handling Sidney Crosby’s concussion issues, the Blues are wisely being careful with Perron. It’s understandable for people - especially Perron - to feel antsy about getting him back into the lineup, but this is the best option in the big picture.