Red Wings Re-Acquire Perron

With the NHL’s trade deadline in less than a day, the Detroit Red Wings shored up some of their forward depth by acquiring former Wing David Perron from the Ottawa Senators.

UPDATE: The #RedWings have acquired David Perron from the Ottawa Senators in exchange for a conditional fourth round pick in the 2026 NHL Draft. pic.twitter.com/MS7X96BeHu

— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) March 6, 2026

Per PuckPedia, the pick Detroit sends to Ottawa will be Columbus’ fourth-rounded if Perron – who hasn’t played since January 20, having undergone sports hernia surgery – appears in a single game for Detroit. It becomes Detroit’s third-rounder if Detroit wins a playoff round and Perron plays in 50% of their games.

For what it is, I like this. Much was made of how much the team missed Perron last season and while his role seems to now be filled by James van Reimsdyk, more veteran depth isn’t a bad thing and a even third-round pick isn’t too much to give up for that. And if Perron can’t get healthy enough to play, it costs nothing.

But what this isn’t is a fix for the team’s scoring or defensive issues. If this is the only deadline move from Detroit GM Steve Yzerman, it’s going to be hard to see it as anything other than a disappointment.

For years we’ve been seeing Yzerman make moves that seem to be part of a chain that never appears. This is another one of those cases that looks great if it’s the first move of several and not so much if it’s the only one.