Perron signs two-year, $9.5 million contract with Red Wings

David Perron
signed a two-year, $9.5 million contract with the Detroit Red Wings on Wednesday. It has an average annual value of $4.75 million.

The 34-year-old forward had 57 points (27 goals, 30 assists) in 67 regular-season games for the St. Louis Blues last season, and 13 points (nine goals, four assists) in 12 Stanley Cup Playoff games.
"Obviously, there were several options I was bouncing around in my head with my agent, my family and everyone," Perron said. "The Red Wings are a team, with some of the singings that happened today, they're ready to take the next step in their evolution as a team, and I wanted to be a part of that."
Selected by St. Louis in the first round (No. 26) of the 2007 NHL Draft, Perron has 665 points (269 goals, 396 assists) in 973 regular-season games for the Blues, Vegas Golden Knights, Anaheim Ducks, Pittsburgh Penguins and Edmonton Oilers, and 61 points (24 goals, 37 assists) in 104 playoff games.
Perron won the Stanley Cup with the Blues in 2019. Despite having played for five teams, until Wednesday he had only ever signed a contract with St. Louis.
"Obviously, we were trying to make it work for a while with the Blues, but it didn't work out and I'm excited to be with the Red Wings," Perron said. "That's what I'm here to talk about obviously today. I think it's special. Any time a guy like (general manager) Steve Yzerman calls you, it captures your attention big time. You want to hear what his plan is all about."
Forward Andrew Copp
signed a five-year, $28.125 million contract
($5.625 million AAV), defenseman Ben Chiarot
signed a four-year, $19 million contract
($4.75 million AAV) and forward Dominik Kubalik signed a two-year, $5 million contract ($2.5 million AAV) with the Red Wings on Wednesday.
Defenseman
Olli Maatta
signed a one-year, $2.25 million contract on Thursday, and defenseman
Mark Pysyk
signed a one-year, $850,000 contract.
"With several expiring contracts we had roster spots open, available, needs to be addressed, and we felt we addressed positionally some needs," general manager Steve Yzerman said Thursday. "We needed simply to add players to fill out a roster, but addressed some needs, an important need at center with Andrew Copp, a right-hand shot forward in David Perron and kind of a pleasant surprise in what we consider a scoring winger in Dominik Kubalik, adding some defensemen we think we will help us on our special teams, in particular our penalty killing, and defensively 5-on-5 as well. These are all areas we talked about in the spring, areas we needed to improve upon. With some of our contracts expiring and holes in our roster, we were in a position to bring in new faces and players we think address some of these needs."
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Copp, 28, had NHL career highs in goals (21), assists (32) and points (53) in 72 regular-season games last season for the New York Rangers and Winnipeg Jets, including 18 points (eight goals, 10 assists) in 16 games after he was acquired in a trade by the Rangers on March 21.
The Ann Arbor, Michigan, native had 14 points (six goals, eight assists) in 20 playoff games.
"I think it's just kind of growing my game and having a good opportunity along with a really good, young team," Copp said. "From what I've seen, it's very similar to the teams I played on in Winnipeg and New York where you go from out of the playoffs and then all of a sudden you're a contender. I feel like there are a lot of good pieces here and today, with all the additions, it's an exciting time."
Chiarot, 31, had 26 points (nine goals, 17 assists) in 74 regular-season games for the Florida Panthers and Montreal Canadiens last season, including eight points (two goals, six assists) in 20 games after he was acquired in a trade with the Canadiens on March 16. He had one assist in 10 postseason games.
"There's a lot of things," Chiarot said. "Obviously, it's well known around the League that it's a young, up-and-coming team. Today, with all the additions the team made, it just makes it an even more exciting team. Steve Yzerman builds good teams, I think everyone knows that. So those are two big factors."
The Red Wings (32-40-10) finished sixth in the Atlantic Division last season, the sixth consecutive season they failed to qualify for the postseason. Derek Lalonde was hired as coach on June 30 to replace Jeff Blashill.
NHL.com staff writer Tracey Myers contributed to this report.