"Who goes to the Riviera Maya in Mexico for a week, soaks up the sun and soft breezes, sips on exotic drinks … and doesn't enjoy it? Seriously, — with apologies to David Backes — who does that? Hockey-ardent David Perron, that's who. OK, it's an overstatement to say No. 57 did not enjoy a number of days in Mexico, absorbing the Caribbean-baked environment, one which the native of Sherbrooke, Quebec, had never experienced before. But he couldn't escape a sinking feeling he was in the wrong place. "I went for a week," Perron said. "It was the first time I was ever in hot weather like that. But the most frustrating part about the trip was there was a sports bar there, and they would show the (playoff) hockey games. I mean, I'm sitting in Mexico by the beach, but it was really frustrating I wasn't playing. We're going to fix that this year." Perron put down a deposit on that promise during the rest of his summer, changing his diet, increasing his training and tunneling his vision. A low handicapper when he plays golf, he pretty much abandoned the game and most other leisure activities while he worked on and off the ice. Part of a maturing process? Perhaps. At the still impressionable age of 22, the kid who donned white skates during his first training camp — cue the Backes commercial — is now starting his fourth season with the Blues. Only a handful of players on the roster have been in St. Louis longer. Yet, some might interpret 2010-2011 as a fresh beginning for Perron in that it begins with Davis Payne as the Blues head coach, not Andy Murray. The fact Murray and Perron were on different pages at times is no secret. Perron sometimes exasperated Murray, who perceived Perron to have moments of undisciplined, selfish play. The relationship was never on a Kim Bassisnger-Alec Baldwin contention level, but it was no tiptoe through the tulips either. Murray was relieved of his duties in January. But if you suggest that was especially significant or liberating for Perron, don't expect him to ride along. Give Perron an opportunity to criticize Murray, and he'll take an opportunity to compliment him. If this is a young player who needs seasoning, he certainly has a sophisticated, stylish way of showing it." http://www.stltoday.com/sports/hockey/professional/article_d600ea6f-6e91-590c-a196-ee1d079a22be.html
