David Perron still bothered by concussion
The Blues are planning to begin their 2011-12 season without
forward David Perron, who still is suffering from post-concussion
symptoms.
“David has shown improvement,” Blues general manager Doug
Armstrong said. “But it’s not to the point where he’s ready to come
in and work out and start training yet. The improvement took a big
jump a few months ago, but (since then) it’s been slow and
steady.
“We’re going to continue down the course we’re at right now. But
where we’re at now, (late) in the summer and with training camp
(six weeks away), we’ve decided to just move forward with the idea
that David won’t be ready for training camp. He’ll just continue to
progress and when he is ready, he’ll jump back in and start his
training to resume his career.”
Perron, 23, was injured Nov. 4 when he was hit by San Jose’s Joe
Thornton. Perron left the game briefly but returned and scored the
second goal in the Blues’ 2-0 victory. He claimed to be OK
afterward, but the symptoms set in the next day when Perron flew to
Boston. He didn’t play the rest of the season, missing the final 72
games.
The NHL, trying to eliminate damaging hits to the head,
suspended Thornton for two games. But it was no consolation to
Perron, who after cracking the NHL at age 18 racked up 53 goals and
131 points in 235 games. After signing a two-year, $4.3 million
contract extension last summer, he netted five goals and two
assists in 10 games before suffering the concussion.
Perron hasn’t been close to returning to the lineup since
November. In February, he traveled to Vancouver to visit Dr. Don
Grant, the concussion specialist who helped speed up the Blues’
Andy McDonald’s return after his concussion, but the treatment did
not bring similar results for Perron.
Only time has allowed Perron’s symptoms to improve. Armstrong
said that Perron had taken “a big jump” in recent months. But when
the club followed up with moderate exercise, the symptoms returned.
The exercises are necessary before Perron can be medically
cleared.
“He did some light, light workouts, never got his heart rate too
high and some of the symptoms, a little fatigue, set in,” Armstrong
said. “He’s seen numerous doctors and we think he’s getting
excellent advice and excellent care. The injury he has, you just
have to wait …”
Perron was unavailable to comment Wednesday. Allan Walsh, his
agent, wrote in a text message: “David has made significant
progress over the last few months. While he is still experiencing
intermittent symptoms, we believe he is close to ramping up a
training program and getting back on the ice. To attempt to put a
time frame on his return now does not serve a useful purpose.”
Thus the reason for Wednesday’s announcement.
“I think it’s just better for David, for the coaches, for
everyone to realize that he is progressing but we’re not expecting
him to be ready at training camp,” Armstrong said. “But as much as
this is to clear the air for everybody, it’s important to let David
just continue going at his own pace.”
The Blues expect Perron will play again. There have been cases
in the NHL of veteran players, such as former Blue Paul Kariya,
retiring because of postconcussion symptoms. There have been cases
of players who missed significant time in the prime of their
careers, such as Boston’s Patrice Bergeron and Minnesota’s
Pierre-Marc Bouchard, but they eventually returned. But there
appear to be no cases of a player in his early 20s forced to
retire.
Colorado’s Peter Mueller, 23, missed all of the 2010-11 season
because of symptoms. While it’s not known if he’s been cleared,
Mueller was recently seen practicing with other Avs players, the
Denver Post reported. So while there’s room for optimism, Perron
still has several hurdles to climb, even after he’s medically
cleared.
“He hasn’t lifted weight yet or trained since the injury,”
Armstrong said. “Not only is he going to have to get his skating
legs back, he’s going to have to get his body back in NHL shape.
Everyone is different, but we’re not going to put David in a
position to fail. We’re going to put him in there when he’s
ready.”