Teams Showing Interest In Free Agent David Perron
Frank Seravalli reports Perron "continues to receive expressions of interest, including one this week."
Seravalli didn't say which teams or how serious the interest is.
Perron has been a free agent since July 1, and The Athletic's Pierre LeBrun reported in June that he intends to keep playing.
A Short Preseason Boxed Out The Veterans
Seravalli says the NHL's first shortened preseason hit late free agents hardest and nearly wiped out professional tryouts.
"I don't know about other teams, but my roster was mostly set in August, and there wasn't any extra room to come into camp and earn a spot," one Western Conference GM told him.
"We didn't have the luxury of time this year."
Perron is one of several veterans still unsigned, along with Vladimir Tarasenko, James van Riemsdyk, Jonathan Drouin, and Reilly Smith.
David Perron. #Sens legend FOREVER. https://t.co/PipPRdMU9i
— SENS TALK (@senstalk_) March 6, 2026
Seravalli says it wasn't because of cap space, for the first time in years.
Teams wanted to leave openings for young players. "We didn't want an older guy to block the path of a young player," the GM said.
"If it doesn't work out or they can't play, we can always add later."
That makes an early injury, or a young player who struggles, the likeliest way a spot opens.
What A Team Would Be Getting
Perron had 13 goals last season, 10 in Ottawa and three in Detroit.
He had 10 goals and 25 points in 49 games for the Senators, then missed time with a sports hernia.
Detroit got him for a conditional fourth-round pick in March, and he finished with three goals and no assists for the Red Wings.
His last 20-goal season came in 2022-23, when he scored 24 for Detroit.
David Perron you will always be famous to me https://t.co/ftsx3duhAp
— Delaney Rimer (@delaneydrw) July 2, 2024
He has 332 goals and 480 assists in 1,239 career games, and his last contract was two years and $8 million, at a $4 million cap hit.
