The Detroit Red Wings have signed forward David Perron to a two-year contract. The signing was the third forward and the fifth player signed by Detroit since the beginning of free agency today. Perron’s deal calls for an average cap hit of $4.75M.
Perron was originally drafted 26th overall by St. Louis in 2007. After playing six years in St. Louis, Parron played parts of two seasons in Edmonton, parts of two seasons in Pittsburgh, and part of one season in Anaheim. In 2016, Parron played for St. Louis for one season before being claimed by Vegas in the 2017 expansion draft. Parron was an alternate captain in Vegas when the team played in the Stanley Cup final in their first season in the league. Parron made a third trip to St. Louis in 2018 and promptly won his only Stanley Cup. He played three more seasons for the Blues before becoming a UFA today.
With the signing, the Red Wings now have 21 players under contract for next year and are still $11M under the salary cap.
Last season, Perron played 67 regular season games, scoring 27 goals, 30 assists, 57 points, and a +8 rating. In 12 playoff games, he scored nine goals, four assists, 13 points, and had an even +/- rating.
At 34, Perron will be expected to be a leader on and off the ice. He just completed his 16th NHL season. Perron has played 973 regular season games, scoring 269 goals, 396 assists, and 665 points, and has a +21 rating. Perron has played in the playoffs during ten seasons, playing 104 games, collecting 24 goals, 37 assists, 61 points, and has a +4 rating. Perron helped St. Louis win the Stanley Cup in 2018-2019, when he scored 16 points in 26 games.
With Detroit, Perron will likely play right wing on one of the top two lines and should be a valuable member of a revamped power play. Seeing how Perron blends in with his younger teammates should be fun.
