ST. LOUIS -- The St. Louis Blues traded Scott Perunovich to the New York Islanders for a conditional fifth-round pick in the 2026 NHL Draft on Monday, ending a tumultuous time in St. Louis for the defenseman. St. Louis gets conditional 2026 fifth-round pick in return Perunovich must play in 20 games the rest of the season with the Islanders for the pick to move to the Blues, or else the Islanders retain the pick, per source. The 2020 Hobey Baker Award winner has played in just 97 games in the NHL since the Blues drafted the left-handed blueliner in the second round in 2018, a career marred by injuries and never being able to climb the ladder of becoming a regular in the lineup. The Islanders can use another defenseman in light of an injury to Ryan Pulock. The Blues and Islanders also pulled off a trade together last season when the Blues sent veteran defenseman Robert Bortuzzo to New York when the Islanders were dealing with injuries. [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/st-louis-blues/latest-news/blues-trade-veteran-bortuzzo-to-islanders] Perunovich, 26, has been a healthy scratch the past nine games and has played in just 24 games this season, scoring his first two NHL goals and having four assists. Perunovich has been the seventh defenseman for much of the season and most recently, the seventh D-man with Tyler Tucker passing him on the depth chart. When and if Nick Leddy (lower-body injury) returns to the lineup, it would have further moved Perunovich down the lineup. There has been obvious growing frustration by the player to be more of a player in the lineup but since Tucker's recall, that hasn't materialized. Perunovich has been healthy-scratched 26 games this season. Overall, Perunovich has 29 points (two goals, 27 assists) spanning three seasons; he was forced to miss the 2022-23 regular-season with a broken left clavicle. Image [https://thehockeynews.com/.image/c_fit,h_600,w_600/MjA5MjcwNjk1MDQ0MTI5OTk4/subscribe2024-tag-carousel.jpg]
