Maple Leafs Avoid Disaster With Rumoured Free Agent Target

The Toronto Maple Leafs in the 2024 NHL offseason needed help to add to the team's forward depth. One name that Toronto had been rumored to be a potential suitor of is veteran winger David Perron.

The Leafs ended up making other moves instead, with the signing of Max Pacioretty seemingly the type of veteran winger such as Perron they were targeting but ultimately went in the direction of signing their rival's former captain.

Perron ended up signing a two-year, $8M contract with the rival Ottawa Senators on the first day of the NHL offseason. Despite what was somewhat of a down year for the 36-year old, Perron still had a decent season in 2023-24 with the Detroit Red Wings, with 17 goals, 30 assists & 47 points in 76 games.

This season, things have not gone as promising for Perron, who late in his career has been a model of solid consistency. For Ottawa in 2024-25, Perron is pointless in nine games, the only lineup regular in the Senators squad without a point this season.

But it's more than understandable the difficulty Perron has had this season. Perron had been dealing with a serious off-ice issue. He and his wife, Vanessa, had been expecting a child during the offseason. However, the two discovered their unborn child had a pulmonary airway malformation, which is a mass in the lungs that impacts babies during birth.

On October 21st, Perron took a leave of absence from the Senators. Six days later, baby Elizabeth Perron was born.

Luckily, the baby was able to recover from multiple surgeries and being on life support, now able to come home with her family. As for Perron, he has since returned to the ice, suiting up for Ottawa although he is now currently out with an upper-body injury.

Knowing his family's struggles this season, it's understandable to think of Perron's issues this season as a matter of having to be a father first in a precarious situation over being able to focus on his play.

Perron seems less a circumstance of struggling and more the victim of something bigger than hockey, and there's no doubt Perron can pick things back up when he's physically and mentally ready to return.