Perreault speaks out after ‘bad play’ gave him a concussion

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This article was published 28/12/2019 (2079 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The symptoms have finally subsided for Winnipeg Jets forward Mathieu Perreault. But the lingering anger over a dirty hit that gave him a concussion isn’t going away any time soon. 

Perreault spoke publicly for the first time Saturday since Philadelphia’s Joel Farabee caught him with a blindside head shot on Dec. 15. The Flyers rookie forward was given a major penalty and game misconduct, plus a three-game ban by the NHL’s department of player safety.

All of which was cold comfort for Perreault, who had found a home on a highly effective third line with Adam Lowry and Andrew Copp.

“I didn’t see it at all. It’s unfortunate. It’s a pretty bad play. I was pretty pissed off, to be honest. It takes me out for a period of time, from something (Farabee) did on purpose. It sucked,” Perreault said following Saturday’s practice at Bell MTS Place.

“When you’re playing well, you want to keep that going. Just a bad play like that, that takes you out, is disappointing. But I feel better now and didn’t miss too much time, so that’s the good part of it, I guess.”

Perreault, 31, has six goals and six assists in 33 games this season, which is his sixth with the Jets. This is his third concussion since his NHL career began, and second with Winnipeg, which he said means being extra careful given all that’s now known about the effects of head trauma. 

“I play a hard game, but I never do anything dirty. So I don’t understand where that came from,” he said of Farabee, who hasn’t reached out to him to extend an apology. 

“They gave him three games. It’s better than nothing. I was hoping they were going to give him two or three games so he understands this isn’t something he can go do out there.”

It was suggested perhaps the 19-year-old Farabee crossed the line in an attempt to make a name for himself in the league.

“Maybe. But that’s making a bad name for himself,” Perreault replied. 

Perreault resumed skating following the Christmas break, but was still wearing a yellow no-contact jersey on Saturday, along with a tinted visor, which helps deflect some of the bright lights.

“I’ve seen some guys do it… the lights were bothering my eyes the next few days after, the sun when driving around was pretty bad. So, first time getting on the ice, light was kind of bugging me so I tried it on and it actually helps. I’ll be wearing it for a while,” Perreault said. 

He will miss a sixth straight game this afternoon when the Jets play the Blues in St. Louis, but is hopeful he can return to the lineup on New Year’s Eve in Denver against the Colorado Avalanche. 

“That would be my hope, for sure. We’ll get a practice day there in Colorado (on Monday) in between the two games,” Perreault said. 

Copp also went down with an upper-body injury two nights later against Colorado and is likely out until late January. That’s created a makeshift third line of Lowry between Mason Appleton and Gabriel Bourque. The trio combined for a pretty goal in Friday’s 5-4 overtime loss to the Blues.

Perreault’s pending return will force head coach Paul Maurice to make some decisions about his lineup, but he wasn’t tipping his hand on whether Perreault would automatically go back with Lowry. 

“Two or three things could change before I have to make that decision. I like the way Adam’s line worked last game. And if we get another (strong) game out of those guys, you might consider just leaving it,” Maurice said. 

mike.mcintyre@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @mikemcintyrewpg