- Pierre LeBrun says the Red Wings and David Perron are talking contract, but the veteran could still test the open market
- Perron, 38, is a pending unrestricted free agent after finishing a two-year, $8 million deal
- Read below for what Perron did after Detroit reacquired him at the deadline
David Perron might be suiting up somewhere other than Detroit next season.
Pierre LeBrun reported that the Red Wings and Perron are talking about a new contract, but there is a real chance the veteran winger reaches the open market when free agency opens Tuesday. Perron is 38 and has been clear that he wants to keep playing.
His last deal is done. Perron just wrapped a two-year contract worth $8 million with a $4 million cap hit, and he becomes an unrestricted free agent with nothing signed for next year.
Detroit brought him back at the trade deadline in March, shipping a conditional fourth-round pick to Ottawa to make it happen.
He still had a few big moments left in the tank. Watch Perron bury one with 3.3 seconds on the clock to keep Detroit’s playoff hopes alive:
The production dipped after the reunion, though. Perron managed three goals and no assists in 15 games once he got back to Detroit.
Across the full season he put up 28 points, 13 goals and 15 assists, in 65 games split between the Senators and Red Wings.
This free agent class is thin up front, and a winger who can still finish tends to draw a line even at 38. Perron has built a long career on net-front work and a heavy shot on the power play, exactly the kind of name a contender calls when the top targets fly off the board.
He is not the only veteran stuck in slow talks as the market opens. Claude Giroux sits in the same spot in Ottawa.
If Detroit and Perron cannot close the gap by Tuesday, someone else gets a crack at him.
