Islanders add another defenseman amid Noah Dobson injury

01/27/2025 03:37 PM

The New York Islanders are climbing out of the Eastern Conference basement. With four wins in a row, they have leapfrogged the Philadelphia Flyers and have to stay hot to make the playoffs. But injuries are continuing to pile up, especially on the blue line. Noah Dobson is out with a lower-body injury and Ryan Pulock is on injured reserve. So the Islanders made a trade, picking up Scott Perunovich from the St Louis Blues.

#Isles Transaction: The New York Islanders have acquired defenseman Scott Perunovich from the St. Louis Blues in exchange for a conditional 5th round pick in the 2026 NHL Draft.

— New York Islanders (@NYIslanders) January 27, 2025

Perunovich is a 5-foot-10 left-handed defenseman who has had moderate success in the NHL. He won the Hobey Baker Award as NCAA’s Most Outstanding Player in 2020 and was a second-round pick. But he has not latched on in St Louis so New York will give him a shot. The Islanders lost two defensemen and replaced them with a unique talent in Perunovich.

He is not the first defenseman that the Islanders have added in response to the injuries. They signed controversial defenseman Tony DeAngelo to a one-year deal after he started the season in Russia. DeAngelo is most notable for getting into a fight with goalie Alexandar Georgiev when both were with the Rangers.

While the Islanders have had a solid week on the ice, they need a lot more of those weeks to get back in the playoff picture. The four straight wins have put them six points out of the playoffs with six teams to jump to get in. Some fans want the team to sell off pieces, something Lou Lamoriello has not done since getting to New York.

This is the second year in a row that the Islanders had two defenseman injuries and traded with the Blues. Robert Bortuzzo did not play much once the injuries subsided last year. Perunovich is a restricted free agent and could stay on Long Island.

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