After a tough start to the season, the points are starting to come for Ottawa Senator veteran David Perron. Can he bounce back and help lead them to the playoffs?
Coming off a season in which he tallied 17 goals and 47 points in 76 games while playing predominantly with Dylan Larkin and Lucas Raymond, this was not what David Perron envisioned when he inked a two-year, $8-million deal with the Ottawa Senators.
It is always a challenge when a player arrives in a new city with new teammates, a new coach, and a new system. This storm of on and off-ice adjustments requires some demanding manoeuvring at the best of times, but what the Perron family endured is something you hope no family ever has to go through.
The veteran forward played five games before taking a leave of absence to be with his family for the birth of his fourth child, Elizabeth, who was born with a mass on her right lung that required removal.
Perron returned to the Senators lineup on November 16th in Carolina once doctors had his daughter's health issues under control. He would play four games before an undisclosed back injury forced him to miss the team's next 27 games.
Perron playing nine of the team's first 47 games was an issue. The Senators were relying on the player to bring secondary depth scoring to their lineup. And Perron desperately wanted to integrate into the lineup and perform at the level he was accustomed to.
"I played four or five games here, four or five games (there)," Perron said, acknowledging his frustrations before the team left on its road trip. "Now you pile it all up together, and it doesn't look great, but at the same time, it's just a weird feeling for sure. I've never had that."
Compounding the problem is that Perron was held pointless in games he did play.
"You want to make a difference," he said. "You do. You want to produce offensively, too."
What must make the season more frustrating is that Perron's line with Shane Pinto and Michael Amadio was arguably the Senators' best line when they did play together. The goals and production may not have been there, but the trio was impactful, tilting the ice in the Senators' favour every time they were on the ice.
"I thought so, too," Perron admitted. "I thought we were solid.
"I'm not like an overly complicated player. I play a pretty simple game. I go out there. I do my job. I need to play with structure because I'm not the fastest, but I've got to get greasy, be hard in the corner, and hang on to pucks. Anytime I can be hard to play against, whether it's a face-off or winning a battle - an edge battle.
"We talk about edge battles all the time. The puck comes 50-50, right in the middle of us all the time. You have got to win those. Those are the things that I absolutely have to do and be hard and hang on to pucks."
The veteran is not living in the past, though. He looks at the Senators' position in the standings and recognizes the opportunity this team has.
"No, it's tough, but it's not about me," Perron admitted. "I like where the team's at. It's a great spot we're in, and the guys have done a fantastic job to be in a position where we're in a playoff spot right now.
"We're pushing for more. We have a chance to push for more. So, it's irrelevant what happened (to me). I've got to find my ground and find a way to provide more for the team and increase my role as we go here by playing solid hockey and hopefully getting more trust from Travis (Green).
Perron scored in the first game of the Senators' road trip in Nashville, banking a shot off Adam Wilsby's head.
It may have been the first Senators' goal scored off a head since Colin White's disallowed goal five years ago.
Perron would add an assist in the Senators' Tuesday night loss in Tampa Bay.
The points are finally starting to come, and if Perron can sustain that production down the stretch for the Senators, that added level of depth scoring for a team that has struggled to produce at five-on-five will be massive.
Although he has only been living in the city for a few short months, Perron has already noticed the growing interest and buzz surrounding the team's push for the postseason.
"It's cool to see a little bit of the vibe already going on around town," he admitted. "I go around the minor hockey ranks, and kids are fired up.
"I'm sure there's always been a lot of Ottawa gear and all that stuff, but it's pretty cool. Everyone's talking about it. (The young fans) know the players. They know what position we're in right now.
"We can do something special by finally turning the corner, and there's a lot of runway to go here. It's exciting to be part of it. I hope that I start building my game again from that."
Senators management will embrace that, too. If Perron can be an agitating presence who contributes offensively, it will improve their depth and help take some of the pressure off the front office to move assets to acquire another scorer.
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