Veteran forward David Perron will begin another chapter in his NHL career — with a return to a former team. The Stanley Cup champion is headed to the Detroit Red Wings, who announced on Thursday that they have acquired him via a trade with the Ottawa Senators.
“UPDATE: The #RedWings have acquired David Perron from the Ottawa Senators in exchange for a conditional fourth round pick in the 2026 NHL Draft,” Detroit shared via a social media post on X, formerly Twitter.
To trigger the conditional pick, Perron has to see action in a game before the end of the 2025-26 NHL regular season or in the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs. Perron, who will turn 38 years old in May, has not played a game since going under the knife in January for a sports hernia injury. But he is showing progress toward a looming return to the ice, as he's already been skating.
A healthy Perron can be expected to provide some lift for the Red Wings' attack. They entered Thursday just 20th in the league overall with just an average of 2.95 goals per game and 22nd with a 10.5 shooting percentage.
In the 49 games he's played so far this season, Perron has gathered 10 goals to go along with 15 assists for 25 points, while posting a +2 plus/minus.
Perron is not a stranger to the Red Wings, having spent two seasons with them from 2022-23 to 2023-24, during which he posted 41 goals and 62 assists in 158 games. He also had stints before with the St. Louis Blues, Edmonton Oilers, Pittsburgh Penguins, Vegas Golden Knights and Anaheim Ducks.
