Stars Expected To Sign David Perron

The Dallas Stars are expected to sign free agent forward David Perron for what will be his 20th season in the NHL, reports Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet.

The reported signing has not been officially announced. Frank Seravalli reports the deal carries a pro-rated league-minimum salary of $850K.

A little over a week ago, we covered reports indicating that Perron was eager to sign a contract and get a spot with an NHL team. Perron’s agent, Allan Walsh of Octagon, told Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic that Perron was “actively looking for the right situation for him and his family,” and was “committed to playing this season.”

The 38-year-old winger is a veteran of over 1,200 NHL games and has been a consistent scorer for much of his career. At times, he’s been a valuable member of the top-six forward group of some contending teams, such as in the 2018-19 season, when he scored 46 points in 57 games and 16 points in 26 playoff games en route to a Stanley Cup championship. As he’s progressed deeper into his late thirties, some of the quality in Perron’s game has eroded. But he showed last season that he could still be a productive secondary scorer, even if he’s no longer capable of potting 20+ goals and 50+ points.

In 2025-26, Perron scored 25 points in 49 games for the Ottawa Senators before being dealt back to the Detroit Red Wings. Perron had previously played for Detroit for two years, 2022-23 and 2023-24. He didn’t make as much of an impact in his second stint in Hockeytown, registering just three points in 16 games.

Dallas has added Perron at a time when they appear to genuinely need offensive reinforcement. Through seven games this season, the Stars are scoring just 2.14 goals per game, which ranks No. 30 in the NHL.

The club’s attack took a hit earlier this week when it was announced that veteran forward Matt Duchene would miss three months after undergoing surgery. Two other Stars forwards – Wyatt Johnston and Oskar Back – are also injured, albeit they are each only considered day-to-day.

In any case, Duchene’s injury further emphasized Dallas’ need for additional scoring help. While Perron isn’t a premium solution for the club’s offensive woes by any means, nor is he a perfect replacement for the injured Duchene, he remains a valuable, experienced player and his addition should benefit the Stars.