David Perron has been a free agent since July 1. He went unsigned through training camp and the first two weeks of the season. On Friday the Dallas Stars gave him a one-year deal worth $850,000, and at 38 he will play a 20th NHL season.
Jim Nill announced it from Frisco. The reason is not complicated: Matt Duchene is out roughly three months after core muscle surgery and Dallas is 3-3-1.
What $850,000 buys
More than it should, if he has anything left.
Perron has 1,239 regular-season games, 812 points, 332 goals and 480 assists across stops with St. Louis, Edmonton, Pittsburgh, Anaheim, Vegas, Ottawa and Detroit. Dallas is his eighth franchise. He won the Stanley Cup with the Blues in 2019, played in the 2020 All-Star Game, and has scored 20 or more goals seven times.
His best season was 2017-18 with Vegas, when he put up 50 assists and 66 points for a team that went to the Stanley Cup Final. In the playoffs he has 110 games and 64 points with a plus-5 rating, which is the kind of postseason record that explains why a contending team signs a 38-year-old in October.
Last season he had 28 points in 65 games between Ottawa and Detroit, with three goals in 16 games for the Red Wings after a March 5 trade. That is fourth-line production. At $850,000 it does not need to be anything more.
Nill’s pitch, and the obvious subtext
“He brings a competitive mindset and a proven ability to perform in big moments,” the Stars general manager said.
That is accurate and it is also what you say about a player you signed because somebody got hurt. Perron was available in mid-October because 32 teams spent three and a half months deciding they did not need him. Dallas needed a left winger who can play both wings and will not complain about ice time.
Captain Jamie Benn said Perron adds scoring and leadership and that he was difficult to play against. Head coach Glen Gulutzan described him as heavy on pucks, strong along the walls and smart, and said he can play either side.
He will not debut right away
Perron cannot play Saturday at Chicago because of visa issues, and Gulutzan said he will need a few practices to get up to speed. That is reasonable for a player who has not been in an NHL camp this fall.
Whether the deal is one-way or two-way has not been disclosed, and neither has any performance bonus structure. Dallas did not announce a corresponding roster move.
The milestones are close
Perron sits at 812 career points, which puts 850 within reach of a full healthy season. At 332 goals he is 18 short of 350. Those are the kind of markers that give a 20th season a shape beyond just hanging around.
Dallas is 3-3-1 and down its second-line center until January. This is not the move that fixes that. It is a cheap, experienced body with a Cup ring and 110 playoff games, signed by a general manager who needed one and found the best version still sitting on the market in October.
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.