david perron has made his presence felt with ottawa senators
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the ottawa senators wanted a strong, veteran presence when they signed david perron as an unrestricted free agent in july 2023.
he has come as advertised — and more.
as the senators prepared to face the new jersey devils on tuesday night to close out a three-game homestand at the canadian tire centre, perron was skating on the fourth line with different combinations that included stephen halliday, lars eller, olie lycksell and kurtis macdermid.
perron was the one constant and was to suit up against the devils. the 37-year-old perron has turned out to be a strong utility player since signing with the senators from the detroit red wings. he has been the right player at the right time for the club.
he suited up for game no. 1,200 of his career against the montreal canadiens at the bell centre and it’s a credit to perron that he achieved the milestone. he’s contributing at his age and has earned the trust of ottawa head coach travis green to play anywhere the club needs him.
perron has been through all the highs of winning a stanley cup with the st. louis blues and lows that a player can have in their career. there have been injuries and the disappointment of missing the playoffs. last year, he had a family issue that made his start with the senators difficult, but through all of this, he has persevered.
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“the game has adjusted and you have to find a way to adjust to stay relevant,” perron said in a recent interview. “your role changes throughout time, you change teams, and sometimes it works there, and sometimes it doesn’t. sometimes you feel like you’re almost out of the league, and then you find a way back.
“i hit the second wind of my career when i went from pittsburgh to anaheim and i had a chance to play with ryan getzlaf on his line for about 20-to-25 games. it went pretty well. i haven’t looked back from that point on. it’s crazy, we’ve had a lot of things happen.”
moving around to different cities hasn’t been easy for perron, but he always has found a way to succeed.
“it’s always hard to change (teams) for me because i think the style i play isn’t flashy at all,” perron said. “i’m not like the guy who blows by a defender and skates through everybody or anything like that. usually, those guys catch your eye right away.
“i have to build my game with my teammates, my coaches and everybody. even the fans have to have the trust to know what i do. i think corey perry is a big example for me that i looked up to, and joe pavelski, when he was playing. two guys who weren’t necessarily the fastest, but could find the right way to get to the right areas and win their battles and do the right things for the team.”
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perron, who is on the club’s second power-play unit, has played anywhere from the first line to the fourth line with the senators. he has skated with all three of the club’s top centres this season, including tim stutzle, dylan cozens and the injured shane pinto.
“the role changes and the ice time changes, so you’ve got to find a way to create energy,” perron said. “the fire is still very much there in my belly to get better and to find a way to stay relevant and to want more minutes and to push for that. that keeps you around.
“when you start going on the other side of things and you just accept it, you might go a little faster than you want. that’s the mentality you try to have. at the same time, you have to respect coaches and teammates in the organization and understand that the players of a certain age are going to have more ice time. that’s just how it works.”
spending time with the likes of brady tkachuk, drake batherson, jake sanderson, thomas chabot, claude giroux and pinto in the ottawa room has been good for perron’s career.
“i was very excited when i got here last year at seeing how hard guys here worked,” perron said. “when i got here, guys would show up very early before camp to get together and skate. it wasn’t like guys were showing up at the last possible second.
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“everyone is hanging out early and hanging out together, having a good time.”
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