Mammoth sign Scott Perunovich to one-year contract at $775,000 AAV

As reported July 1 by PuckPedia’s Hart Levine after the NHL free agent market opened, the Utah Mammoth have signed defenseman Scott Perunovich, 26, to a one-year, two-way contract carrying a $775,000 cap hit.

Perunovich played just 35 NHL games this season, amassing two goals and nine points. The St. Louis Blues traded him to the New York Islanders in January as they desperately tried to repair their injury-ravaged blueline. He picked up three assists in 11 games as his ice time jumped from 14:37 per game to a 19:02, but he found himself a healthy scratch from late February until the last couple games in the season, never earning coach Patrick Roy’s trust. Perunovich was a restricted free agent and became a UFA after the Islanders opted not to extend him a qualifying offer.

Perunovich still has some upside and represents a low-risk reclamation project for the Mammoth. The Blues selected him 45th overall in the second round of the 2018 Draft, and Mammoth GM Bill Armstrong was the Blues’ director of amateur scouting at the time, so he’s obviously familiar with a player he drafted. Perunovich is undersized at 5-foot-10 and 175 pounds, but he has some skill as a puck-mover. He was a fantastic college player, winning two NCAA national championships with Minnesota-Duluth and even taking home the 2019-20 Hobey Baker Award as the best Div. I player in the country. He was better than a point-per game at the AHL level, too. But his game never translated to a significant role at the NHL level. He’s topped out at career highs of 54 games and 17 points and has struggled to stay healthy.

Nevertheless, Perunovich provides organizational depth, particularly because he’s on a two-way deal and can help the Utah’s AHL affiliate, the Tuscon Roadrunners, if he doesn’t crack the Mammoth roster full-time.