Former Boston Bruins forward and 2011 Stanley Cup Champion Rich Peverley is still up in the air about his returning to the NHL. His agent Allain Roy told the Boston Globe on Sunday that the unrestricted free agent hasn’t made a decision about coming back as a player.
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Peverley was traded to the Dallas Stars as part of the Tyler Seguin package that brought Loui Eriksson to the Bruins. Peverley made the headlines last March when he suffered a cardiac event during a game with the Columbus Blue Jackets at American Airlines Center. He had to be revived by trainers, and the game ended up being postponed.
Peverley had been having a good season with the Stars. He had already put up thirty points on the season, with seven goals. Peverley was providing stable bottom-six time for a Stars team that has continually gotten better these last few seasons.
Peverley had surgery to correct an irregular heartbeat that was discovered during his pre-season physical. He had also had a second procedure performed a week and a half before he collapsed on the bench on March 10, 2014. He wasn’t cleared for off-ice workouts until late last season.
Puck Prose
In his career Peverley has played in 442 NHL games. He has accrued two hundred and forty-one points (84 goals) during that time. Peverley has played with the Nashville Predators, Atlanta Thrashers, as well as with the Bruins and Stars. It was Peverley’s heroics in game three of the 2011 Stanley Cup Final that helped the Bruins recover and defeat the Vancouver Canucks in seven games.
Even if Peverley has decided that he can’t or won’t return to hockey as a player, there are other opportunities available to him in hockey. Last season, he as a volunteer assistant coach for the Texas Stars(Dallas’ American Hockey League affiliate), and helped the Dallas Stars as an extra set of ninth level eyes. Perhaps the Stars or another organization will invite Peverley to come on board as a coach or in a front office role.