Red Wings Ink David Perron to a 2-Year Deal, $9.5 Million Deal

The Detroit Red Wings are going to be a heck of a lot harder to push around this season. After adding four players in Andrew Copp, Dominik Kubalik, Olli Määttä, and Ben Chiarot, general manager Steve Yzerman added to his forward corps by signing winger David Perron.

UPDATE: The #RedWings today signed left wing David Perron to a 2-year contract. pic.twitter.com/brYHXpMS6M

— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) July 13, 2022

Yzerman puts some more muscle and skill on the blue line. Up front, the Red Wings’ GM is working to add more talent, especially on the power play.

Perron Adds Snarl and Special Teams Skills to Red Wings

Not only did Perron score 27 goals last season, 11 of them came on the man advantage. For a team that struggled on the power play, Perron addresses that immediately.

Beyond that though, he adds to the theme of the Chiarot signing by adding a hard nosed forward to the top nine. Perron was seen in the second round of the playoffs for the scuffle he got into with Colorado’s Nazem Kadri showing he’s not afraid of mucking it up. Sure, he hasn’t scored less than 57 points in the last four seasons, but he’s in the mold of an Yzerman player: tough to play against on all fronts.

Perron Signing Shows a Similar Theme for Red Wings

With each signing that Yzerman has made, it’s clear he’s targeting the shortcomings of last year’s team.

Bottom line with today's Red Wings FA deals: Steve Yzerman was tired of watching his team lose games, 9-2.

— John Niyo (@JohnNiyo) July 13, 2022

Yzerman builds with the players in mind, who fit the culture and style he’s building. Glancing at his previous work in Tampa, he constructed a team who was brutal to play against. Punishing both physically and on the score sheet.

Perron in his last six seasons has been strong in both categories. Beyond that, Perron has played on winning teams in those past six seasons, which includes two Stanley Cup Final appearances and a Cup win with St. Louis in 2019.

True to his word, Yzerman sought out a variety of players through free agency today because of how they will improve the team.

“If there’s a player that can make what we feel would be a significant impact, we’re not afraid to do that in free agency,” Yzerman said.

Perron is just another example, on a busy Wednesday for the Red Wings, that Detroit is moving away from the rebuild.