It may have been a surprise for many Ottawa Senators fans when their team signed free agent David Perron to a two-year, $8 million contract on July 1. Even so, there’s no denying that it was one of president of hockey operations and general manager (GM) Steve Staios’ better moves this summer.
Perron is a big, gritty left winger and comes with 17 seasons in the league under his belt with six different teams. He plays with an edge and isn’t afraid to mix it up physically. Just ask Artem Zub who he cross-checked in the head during a dust-up in front of the Senators’ net last season. He got a six-game suspension for his trouble.
Related: Senators’ David Perron Was an Ideal Free Agency Signing
Even though he is 36 years old, Perron can still play and has notched at least 50 points in almost all of the last five seasons. Not only that, but he knows what it takes to win a Stanley Cup having won one in 2019 with the St. Louis Blues.
Yet there’s more to Perron than his record on the ice. Here are six cool things about him that Ottawa fans should know.
Perron – A Proud Native Son of Sherbrooke
Perron was born on May 28, 1988, in Sherbrooke, Quebec in the heart of that province’s Eastern Townships. He is one of only 20 players born in that city to ever play in the NHL and he’s the only one still playing. No other son of Sherbrooke has played more games in the league than Perron with 1,131 matches under his belt thus far. Not only that, but no other player born in the city can match his point production – 310 goals and 458 assists for a total of 768 points to this point in his career.
There have been other fine NHLers who came out of Sherbrooke, including Stephane Robidas, Yanic Perreault, Matthieu Dandenault and Eric Belanger. Yet none of them managed to match Perron for longevity or point production.
Sherbrooke’s Only Stanley Cup Champion – David Perron
Perron’s name is etched on the Cup for the championship the Blues won in 2019. He is the only player born in Sherbrooke to ever hoist Lord Stanley’s mug over his head.
At his relatively advanced age and with the Senators still rebuilding, it’s unlikely that Perron will repeat a Stanley Cup victory in Ottawa. Even so, Senators fans hope that Perron’s winning ways in St. Louis will rub off on their team’s youngsters.
Perron Played Mini-Stick Hockey With Brady Tkachuk
Perron played three seasons in St. Louis with Brady Tkachuk’s father Keith from 2007-2010. “Big Walt” as Keith was nicknamed, took the rookie Perron under his wing and often invited him over to the Tkachuk home for dinners.
That’s when Perron first met an eight-year-old Brady Tkachuk and the two hit it off playing mini-sticks in big Walt’s basement. It’s hard to imagine that 14 years later Perron would be playing in Ottawa with Brady as his captain.
The irony is not lost on Perron who told Ottawa media on signing with the Senators in July, “Really, it’s going to be special, I ran into Brady a couple of times last year (2023) – one in Sweden when both teams (Perron’s Detroit Red Wings and Ottawa) were over there in November and then at the All-Star Break – I was thinking the other day, Brady would have been eight, nine, 10 years old when I played those three years with big Walt … and that’s exactly where my son is now, he’s going to turn nine in a couple of weeks here. I was remembering some of the moments I had with Brady and (brother) Matthew, whether in the locker room after games or going to their house for Thanksgiving or Christmas. It’s going to be hilarious, it’s kind of gone full circle.”
Perron Has a Lot of Nicknames
Perron picked up the nickname “Mr. Overtime” in 2019-20 when he led the NHL with four overtime-winning goals. Asked if he liked the name he blushed in a 2021 interview explaining, “I like winning five-on-five better than overtime, but I sure like being out there for sure. If you’re patient, (and) you have a little bit of poise there with the puck, you’re going to get looks in overtime. I get a lot (of) confidence from (Blues coach Craig Berube) putting me out there against some of the big boys over there. I don’t want to get scored on and obviously, I’m trying to put some in, too” (from, Jeremy Rutherford, “David Perron is ‘Mr. OT’ even if the Blues forward blushes at the nickname,’ The Athletic, 2/19/21).
Another nickname that stuck in St. Louis, thanks to Ryan O’Reilly, was “French Toast” – an apparent homage to Perron’s French-Canadian roots. O’Reilly had been showing up to Blues’ Halloween parties for years dressed as a piece of toast but in 2019 he recycled the get-up as French toast – complete with a classic French beret, neck scarf and striped blue shirt with Perron’s name and number emblazoned on the back.
Perron has also been affectionately known as “DP” and “Mr. Consistency”. It will be interesting to see whether the Senators go with one of his previous nicknames or tag him with something completely new.
Perron Was a Supremely Confident Rookie
The Blues took Perron as their first-round pick, 26th overall in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft. On being selected, the 19-year-old told reporters, some of whom were probably snickering, that “I want to make the team, for sure. I’m not looking to come here in September for training camp just to make an impression, just to have the experience. I want to make the team right away.”
Perron was good for his word, signing a three-year entry-level contract in September after showing at training camp what then-Blues president John Davidson called, “tremendous creativity and offensive skill.” The next month the Blues announced that he would be on their roster on opening night. Perron never played a game in the minor leagues.
Perron Believes in Giving Back
From the beginning of his NHL career, Perron has been involved in many fundraisers and charities. It will be interesting to see how he gets involved with the local charity scene in Ottawa.
Perhaps he’ll focus on francophone kids in the Ottawa region through the David Perron Attitude Hockey Foundation’s annual hockey tournament in Brompton, a borough of Sherbrooke. He along with various other Quebec-born hockey players participate in the foundation with the goal of providing “role models for young hockey players”.
Perron has also volunteered as an ambassador for the Athletes for Animals Foundation and coordinated a weekend charity hockey tournament with Kris Letang in 2018.
Perron Will Make His Mark on City of Ottawa
Perron has been a big personality wherever he has played in the NHL. Bytown hockey fans will be watching with interest to see what he does both on and off the ice during his two-year contract with the Senators.
