David Perron‘s player analysis is a review of his stats and discusses what to expect of him in 2024-25 for the Ottawa Senators. If you look throughout Perron’s career, he has always been a very reliable and valuable member of his respective organizations. Take for example his high-importance role in 2013-14 with the Edmonton Oilers and his average ice time of 19:08 through 78 games played that season. There are other examples of Perron’s dependability throughout his career, which we shall rely on for analysis. Therefore, let’s review his career statistics, with an emphasis on his most recent numbers. This will allow us to come up with a prediction for his projected outcome this season for Ottawa.
Using David Perron’s Stats to Discuss His Value to the Ottawa Senators
The Sens didn’t bring Perron in to be a high-end scorer. But hey, if the top power play struggles, he would provide the perfect correction factor. That’s just an example of the type of player Perron is for your roster. He’s the type of working professional referred to during the regime change that President of Hockey Operations and now General Manager Steve Staios would bring in to make a difference.
The only real question with Perron is whether or not his skill set has diminished with his age. He’s noted as being a slow (NHL) skater. At 36 years old, just how will this impact the Sens roster? The Sens do have some fast skaters such as Josh Norris, Tim Stutzle, or Jake Sanderson. However, their lineup as a whole, as it was in 2023-24 anyway, would be generally regarded as slow. This point is especially so today in such a fast-paced league. Moreover, those are exactly the type of teams that tend to be successful in today’s league. For instance, the Edmonton Oilers, Carolina Hurricanes, and the Dallas Stars are all examples of teams that can play at a tremendous pace. Not only do those teams play with incredible pace, but they are successful in the post-season.
What About the Directionality of David Perron’s Stats
Well aside from the potential downfall of Perron, he still brings it every night. In 2023-24, his points per 60 minutes were 2.4. Throughout Perron’s 17-year NHL career, nine of his seasons saw a Pts/60 mins of 2.4 or higher. In addition, his ice time did drop a bit in 2023-24, compared to previous years, but not worth raising an issue over. At 15:38 minutes a night in 2023-24, that is plenty to secure a regular shift and a specific role night after night, shift to shift.
David Perron’s season stats were passable with 17 goals and 30 assists for 47 points in 76 games. This was affected slightly by a lower-than-usual shooting percentage of 11.3. He is also known as a responsible player, as evidenced by an impressive career plus 179 takeaway/giveaway differential. Furthermore, Perron has always been an efficient offensive producer. He’s a seven-time, 20-goal scorer, four of his campaigns came since he turned 30. He has 310 goals for 768 career points in 1131 regular season games. Also, he packs the intangible of a Stanley Cup ring, from 2019 with the St. Louis Blues.
How Does This Impact the Ottawa Senators
His role with the club will be one of primarily a leadership role. In contrast, he will play a pivotal, middle-six shutdown role in the process. The Senators needed players to bridge the gap between the Stutzle line, the second wave, and next-man-up mentality. That certainly didn’t work well for the Senators in 2023-24. The Vladimir Tarasenko experiment didn’t work quite well enough, but was overshadowed by missing Norris due to injury for a good portion of the season’s schedule.
In terms of specific results from Perron in 2024-25, let’s keep it simple. Expect him to fall in the 14-16 minute a night range. Given his proven career consistency, expect his numbers to be mostly driven by his ice time. However, the opportunity that reveals itself from the ice time will depend too. If he plays more so in a second-line role with Drake Batherson compared to a third-line role, paired with Ridly Greig, his exact point production would vary slightly. We would assume a second-line role would have a higher expectation of offence placed upon them. Look for him to play more of a third-line role, which would decrease his usual rate of shots. All-in-all, Perron will land somewhere between 15 and 20 goals, for 40 and 50 points. Both very valuable for the Sens who didn’t have that production from their middle-six from last year.
Main photo: Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports
