Scout’s Analysis: Why the Islanders traded for Scott Perunovich

The New York Islanders — 14th in the Eastern Conference, six points out of a playoffs spot, but winners of four straight — are not giving up hope yet.

Would we expect any different from Lou Lamoriello?

With defencemen Ryan Pulock and Noah Dobson now sidelined with injuries, the Islanders are having to push on without their top two scorers from the back end. They filled one of those holes Friday by signing Tony DeAngelo after he had a falling out with his SKA St. Petersburg team in Russia. DeAngelo had to clear waivers before joining the Islanders, and did so over the weekend.

On Monday the team was able to fill the other hole, acquiring 26-year-old defender Scott Perunovich from St. Louis for a conditional fifth-round pick in the 2026 draft.

At one point, not long ago, Perunovich was seen as a breakout candidate and next-in-line difference maker on St. Louis’ blue line. He was a top offensive defenceman in college hockey and won the Hobey Baker in 2020. His first NHL games came in 2021-22 for the Blues and he produced six points in 19 games.

But Perunovich was unable to immediately build off that experience, suffering a shoulder injury in October of 2022 that forced him to miss nearly the entire season. He didn’t play any NHL games in 2022-23 but was just shy of being a point-per-game producer in 22 AHL games.

And since then Perunovich hasn’t been able to find his place in St. Louis’ defence corps. This season he was averaging 14:37 of ice time over his 24 games played, scoring his first two NHL goals and adding four assists. All of that production came at even strength.

Perunovich is a left shot who can play either side of the ice. Philip Broberg’s acquisition through an offer sheet over the summer, along with Ryan Suter’s UFA signing, made it tougher for Perunovich to find a way to more regular ice time, while the in-season trade for Cam Fowler made a move inevitable.

The Islanders are bound to present him with greater opportunity and a fresh start, but what can the 5-foot-10, 175-pound blueliner do with it? Can he salvage a once-promising career as an offensive defenceman in this league? On this team?

For more on Perunovich, we turn to our scout Jason Bukala.

SCOUT’S ANALYSIS

To NY Islanders: Scott Perunovich

The Islanders are reaching for some sort of spark to produce more offence from their defence and adding Perunovich is a low-cost risk that might result in some secondary scoring. Just last week they added DeAngelo to the fold as well. 

Perunovich was a high-end point producer in the NCAA. He’s a former Hobey Baker Award winner (top player in the NCAA) who produced 105 points at Minnesota-Duluth over three seasons, before turning pro with the Blues in 2022. He hasn’t been able to establish himself offensively at the NHL level however. Perunovich has only produced 29 points in 97 career NHL games. 

Perunovich is an undersize (5-foot-10, 175-pound), darting, two-way/transitional defenceman. He’s a bottom-pairing defender at even strength, but he has the skill to slide into the second power-play unit as a QB/distributor.

Despite his stature, I’m comfortable with the effort Perunovich displays on the defensive side. He’s involved and relies on jumping to space ahead of opponents to pounce on pucks and launch them out of harm’s way. His size is a factor defending the net front, though. Bigger, stronger power forwards have an advantage over Perunovich when setting screens or hunting rebounds around the crease. 

The Islanders are, no doubt, hoping the additions of Perunovich and DeAngelo can lead to more offence. The team currently sits 29th in the NHL in goals for and last in power-play percentage. Both defenders won’t leave much of a mark on the penalty kill. Perunovich specifically did not see any ice time on the penalty kill in St. Louis. 

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