Kings sign Scott Perunovich to one-year contract
A former top prospect is heading to the Golden State next year.
On the opening day of NHL free agency, the Los Angeles Kings signed defenseman Scott Perunovich to a one-year, two-way contract for the 2026-27 season. According to PuckPedia, the deal has an NHL cap hit of $850,000, with a minor-league salary of $650,000.
The #LAKings signed 27 y/o D Scott Perunovich to a 1 year two-way contract NHL: $850K Minors: $650K Rep'd by Ian Pulver @WillSportsGroup puckpedia.com/player/scott-p…
This is the fifth year in a row that Perunovich will be operating on a single-year deal. He spent last season with the Utah Mammoth organization with an NHL minimum cap hit of $775,000. The contract also had a minor-league salary of $400,000, with a guaranteed $500,000.
It has been a tough career for Perunovich, especially given the expectations he had coming out of college. He won the Hobey Baker Award with Minnesota Duluth in 2020, joining the St. Louis Blues the following year. However, his game never quite translated to the NHL level. Paired with his inability to stay healthy, the Hibbing, Minn. native has spent more time as a healthy scratch, or in the American Hockey League entirely. In 2025-26, he was solely with the Tucson Roadrunners, the Mammoth’s primary affiliate, scoring nine goals and 40 assists for 49 points, the most productive season of his pro career.
Perunovich’s last bit of NHL experience came at the end of the 2024-25 season, when he split time between the Blues and the New York Islanders after being traded to the latter in January of that year.
In 108 regular-season NHL games, the 27-year-old has posted two goals and 30 assists for 32 points, and played in seven Stanley Cup Playoffs games with the Blues in 2022. He has appeared in 105 games in the AHL, notching 14 goals and 77 assists for 91 points.