Player Profile:
Name: David Perron
DOB: May 28, 1988
Birthplace: Sherbrooke, Quebec
Position: LW
Shoots: R
Size: 6’1″, 196lbs
Drafted: 2007, 26th overall (STL)
2022-2023 stats:
GP: 82
Points: 56 (24G, 32A; 22PPP)
TOI/GP: 16:55
PIM: 52
Plus/Minus: -7
Cap hit: $4.75M (signed through 2023-2024 with M-NTC, 10-team no-trade list)
Overall Grade: B
Full disclosure: I do think I’m being harsh with this grade. There are plenty of raw metrics that fall in Perron’s favor that probably warrant nudging the grade up a half-measure. He was durable (all 82 games played), he was productive (0.68P/GP, 2nd on the team; 0.29G/GP, 2nd on the team), he contributed on special teams (22PPP), and he wasn’t a possession black-hole (49.6 SAT%, 3rd best among all Red Wings skaters). We signed Perron to be a scoring winger and that’s exactly what he was.
But, there’s a big chunk of me that can’t let go of what conflicted me about the Määttä grade: the idea of need vs capability.
Perron was signed as a top-6 winger who had reliably scored at a fantastic pace going back several seasons, despite missing some time. But here, that pace slowed quite a bit – and understandably so – from 0.89P/GP between 2017 and 2022 to 0.68P/GP this past season. His SAT% similarly dipped with 49.6% his lowest possession number since 2017-2018. His shooting (12.3%, 11th on the team) was the lowest since 2016-2017 despite taking the most shots (195, 2nd on this year’s Wings) since his 2014-2015 season.
I say all of this is understandable because of Perron’s history. Prior to arriving here, Perron was playing for St Louis and Vegas – both substantially better than us. His history is also long – he was 34 years old this past season, and Father Time is undefeated. Both quality of teammates and natural decline are absolutely understandable and forgivable factors that probably account for his decline in production. But I still think we needed him to produce more – and not just for himself, but he needed to help his line mates produce more. And while I’m sure he did to an extent, I just wish it was more.
Looking Ahead to 2023-2024
This season, I think he has the chance to do what I wanted him to do last season. We have covered the forward and defense additions as nauseam over the past few weeks, and while our predictions for the lines are yet to come I don’t foresee easy decisions. We’ve added such good pieces that there are now tough decisions to be made about quality players, and this is only going to benefit Perron.
Even giving him the benefit of consideration for being another year older, I think any production less than what he put up this past season should be looked at harshly. I really think he can push a 0.75P/GP and 0.35G/GP pace with the improvements Yzerman made to this roster.
Do you think Perron can “bounce back” for a bigger year of production this coming season? Have I graded him too generously or too harshly? Be loud and be proud below!
LGRW
