The Blackhawks came to terms with their last remaining restricted free agent today. It was announced that 23-year-old wing Brendan Perlini signed a one-year contract worth $874,125 to remain in Chicago.
The #Blackhawks signed 23 y/o RFA LW Brendan Perlini to 1 yr $874K Deal (his Qualifying Offer). RFA on expiry.
With CHI after trade:
-12G 15P in 46GP
-37% 5v5 GF
-37% Expected GF
-45% Corsi
-Scored 1.77 P/60Rep'd by Darren Ferris @quartexxmgmt https://t.co/wRVvN1EwWH
— PuckPedia (@PuckPedia) September 6, 2019
The Guildford, Great Britain, native Perlini was acquired from the Arizona Coyotes with Dylan Strome for Nick Schmaltz on Nov. 25, 2018. He was the No. 12 overall pick in the 2014 NHL Entry Draft and played 217 career OHL games with the Barrie Colts and Niagara IceDogs. He also won a bronze medal with Team Canada at the 2014 U18 World Junior Championships and participated in the 2016 World Junior Championships.
Prior to the trade, the 6-foot-3, 211-pound Perlini had six points (two goals, four assists) in 22 games with Arizona. After being acquired from Arizona, Perlini had a red-hot two-week stretch in early March where he had 10 points in seven games. He eventually put up 15 points (12 goals, three assists) in 46 total regular season games. During his hot streak, Perlini had a hat trick against his former team on March 11.
He was coming off a three-year entry-level deal worth $2,589,999, signed on July 18, 2014. The Coyotes were able to retain him on his entry-level contract for two additional seasons because he spent the 2014–15 and 2015–16 seasons in the OHL, thus sliding his contract ahead two years per the NHL’s Collective Bargaining Agreement.
Now that all players are accounted for, the next hurdle will be figuring out where to play the versatile, but inconsistent, wing. With only eight wing positions available, Drake Caggiula, Alex DeBrincat, Patrick Kane, Andrew Shaw and Zack Smith already seem to have spots on the roster while Dominik Kubalik and Alex Nylander are strong contenders to secure spots, as well. Depending on the status of Ryan Carpenter, Kirby Dach and David Kampf, one of the three could also start the season on the wing, rendering Perlini as the 13th forward.