Andy Murray will have none of your white skates

"White past Labor Day is a FASHION FAUX PAS!"

Great story about Blues young forward David Perron (From the Belleville Democrat):

“When David Perron showed up in white skates for his first NHL training camp, that didn’t sit well with St. Louis Blues coach Andy Murray…

“The idea of him wearing white skates lasted about 15 seconds,” said Murray, who had the equipment staff paint them black. “He was a little shocked when he came in the next day and his skates were black.”

I really can’t decide what’s more weird – Perron using completely white skates, or Murray ordering his staff to spray paint them. Either case, this story is a microcosm of how the coaching staff has had to deal with the prospect. The knock on Perron is that he’s just a dangler with absolutely no sense of how to take care of his defensive zone – and for the majority of last season, it was absolutely true. For example:
David Perron\'s amazing defensive coverage

He manages to get beat by Blake Wheeler twice on the same play. Just painful. Don’t let this play fool you though, defensive mishaps aside, Perron has a ton of upside and his touch in the offensive zone hints at the makings of a future 30-goal scorer. It’ll be interesting to watch him develop as an NHLer.

In other news, the Blues front office took my advice and signed Darryl Sydor to a one-year deal for $1 Million. Not to beat a dead horse, but the guy has alot to offer a very young defensive core. Great signing by JD.

The Blues drop the puck in Sweden on Tuesday, against H.C Linkopings, and they open the season against the Red Wings on Friday. Swing back in to Hockeyindependent for coverage of both games.