When David Perron inked a two-year, $8 million contract on July 1, 2024, the expectation was for him to come in and be an immediate positive influence on the ice and within the room.

For the 2024-25 Ottawa Senators, it just took some time. Perron represented quality veteran depth. Depth that this organization has lacked in recent years. It was that his skill set diversified from those that preceded him. Rather than being just an offensively inclined player with poor defensive metrics, Perron was strong on the boards, had a penchant for winning stick battles, and was comfortable going to the dirty areas of the ice.

Unfortunately for the Senators and David Perron, the 2024-25 season has been the most frustrating and challenging of his career. And for his perseverance, the forward was chosen by the Ottawa chapter of the Professional Hockey Writers Association as the Senators' nominee for the Bill Masterton Trophy.

The Bill Masterton Trophy is awarded annually to the National Hockey League player who best exemplifies the "qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship, and dedication to ice hockey."

Perron and his wife Vanessa found out in the middle of August through some scans that their unborn daughter Elizabeth would have to go through a procedure. Their baby had a mass on her right lung that was pushing so much on the chest that there were concerns about it potentially causing a heart attack if left untreated.

The forward played in the Senators' first five games before taking an 11-game leave of absence following the birth of his daughter.

Despite a lack of production, Perron's line with Shane Pinto and Michael Amadio had strong underlying numbers. The trio was arguably the Senators' best line through the early stretches of the season, but without that production, Perron felt like he was struggling to establish himself as a figure within the Senators' room.

"It was hard trying to be with a new team," Perron acknowledged. "If I was with my old team or maybe even St Louis, where you've been many years, you don't feel like you have to establish yourself in the locker room and the role you'll have to be effective. It just felt like I couldn't do that at all."

Perron elaborated.

"I was trying my best, and people might think it's about point production or goal scoring," he explained. "It really isn't. It's just kind of being yourself in the locker room and having a game that you go out there, and people respect what you do.

"You put in an honest effort. When you do that, they respect it. And I feel like I've been able to establish that. I'm proud of it. I want to keep doing and add to it."

When Perron eventually returned to the Senators' lineup on November 16, he would play in four games before being sidelined with an undisclosed upper-body injury that forced him to miss the team's next 27 games.

Perron acknowledged that this injury occurred during a preseason game in Montreal and kept lingering through the early stretches of the season.

The injury kept him out of the lineup until late January, but even after he returned, the bad luck continued. While attending a team practice on February 20, Perron's wife and daughter were driving into Kanata when their vehicle was involved in a T-bone collision after another driver blew through a stop sign.

Fortunately, the injuries from that motor vehicle collision were minor, but the accident represented another instance in which the family's problems continued to compound.  

The good news is that it can have a bittersweet end.

In the aftermath of that accident, Perron has played at an incredibly high level.

Since March 1, the winger has tallied eight goals and 11 points in his last 19 games. At a time when the games carry more weight and the team needs to perform at a higher level, he has elevated his game.

"Our team's playing good hockey," Perron admitted. "We're finding different ways to win, whether it's good goalie performance or (team) defence.

"To win games where you feel we weren't necessarily at our best. That's a good feeling. This is something that I hope you guys see, too. The fans are excited because it's one thing to beat a good team when you're playing your best, but to win when you're not always, I think that's even more exciting and gives us a chance to re-energize even more."

Perron continued.

"I've had great teammates and great people helping me early in my career to show me what kind of teammate I needed to be in those moments. People will be even more proud and happy for you when you find success later. You want to be a good teammate and a good person all the time so that when it's your time, people are even more excited for you. And I was really focusing on that all the time. It's, it's a big thing."

Masterton Trophy Candidates

The Senators did not lack Masterton candidates.

Josh Norris would have been deserving had he not been dealt at the deadline to Buffalo. After enduring three shoulder surgeries, Norris responded with a 20-goal campaign while not shying away from the game's physicality.

Journeyman forward Adam Gaudette returned to the Senators after spending the past two seasons in the AHL. In his eighth professional season, the veteran finally became an NHL regular, parlaying torrid preseason production into an earned role. That production carried through the formative stretches of the season, and after 74 games played, Gaudette owns a share of the team lead in five-on-five goals with 13.

I had a chance to talk to Gaudette about his season.

"My goal was to get here and stick," the forward stated. "I had a lot to learn, and over the past few years in the AHL, I feel like I really got to harp on what I needed to improve on.

"It shows that I have improved on those, and in the eyes of the coaches, with the trust and becoming a regular, playing a full season definitely feels good."

Over the course of the season, Gaudette's role has evolved. After a torrid preseason earned him an opportunity to open the season with the Senators, his production bled into the regular season.

Injuries afforded him the opportunity to play minutes with skilled linemates atop the Senators' lineup.

The journeyman capitalized.

Through his first 26 games, he had 13 goals and 15 points while playing on as a winger in the top-six and logging time on the team's second power play unit.

Since that time, however, the return of some skilled forwards have reduced Gaudette's role and responsibilities. Although he does still get some power play ice time, he is now centering the team's fourth line in a checking line capacity.

"Yeah, that's something I kind of prided myself on," Gaudette admitted. "Being able to play in different roles in different situations, and just being valuable in that sense.

"I'm not going to be a guy who's always going to play top minutes, and on the top line, but when needed, I can play that role, and then when I am on the fourth line, (I just focus on) playing that smart, two-way game and not focus on scoring. (Being) more focused on being above the puck, being in the right spots, and not giving up anything on the defensive side. I think that has helped me stick in the lineup and really solidified my spot on the fourth line here."