David Perron Shares His Feelings After Leaving St Louis
The NHL free agency has seen alot of players leave their clubs' due to the salary cap. Teams are forced to make alot of decisions they normally wouldn't do.
That includes the St Louis Blues who lost a fan favorite in David Perron. The 34 year-old was draft by the St Louis Blues, and after few pit stops with a few teams Perron would end up back in 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, as Perron would sign 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: "Why do you still have the Blues practice jersey on?" Perron would tell them:
«Well, I don't have any other gear yet,» he told them.
Before they left St Louis Perron stopped by a local sports store and felt weird just looking around at the merchandise.
"We're used to the Cardinals and (Busch) Stadium, and then you see the Detroit Tigers gear, it's kind of surreal," he said.
Perron would share his bought his son a Redwings hat at the store his first item since leaving the Blues.
«That's not something I thought I would ever do, starting my career against (Detroit), in the same division, playing them eight times a year,» he said. «That's going to be a lot different for me to change to red jerseys.»
Perron would also admit he was still a bit in shock and disbelief after not re-signing in St Louis.
"I'm still in a little bit of shock that it didn't work out, just kind of the way the years went,» Perron said. "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," Perron said."
