New Ottawa Senators forward is now playing alongside the son of his former teammate.

This week, forward David Perron signed with the Ottawa Senators, marking a significant full-circle moment for him. Perron, who was the No. 27 pick in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft, began his career with the St. Louis Blues, where he played alongside Keith Tkachuk during the final years of his illustrious career. Now, at 36 years old, he joins a Senators team captained by Keith’s younger son, Brady Tkachuk.

While Perron and Brady had technically played together before, it was just friendly mini-stick games at Keith’s house when Brady was a young child. Now, over 15 years later, they have the opportunity to share the ice at the professional level.

Reflecting on this opportunity, Perron shared, “I was thinking the other day, Brady would have been 8, 9, 10 years old when I played those three years with big Walt … and that’s exactly where my son is now, he’s going to turn nine in a couple of weeks here. I was remembering some of the moments I had with Brady and (brother) Matthew, whether in the locker room after games or going to their house for Thanksgiving or Christmas. It’s going to be hilarious, it’s kind of gone full circle.”

Despite approaching his late 30s, Perron remains a formidable player, having scored more than 20 goals in four of the past six seasons. Even in the two seasons where he fell just short of that mark, his performance was close. Although his production took a slight dip last year with the Detroit Red Wings, where he scored 17 goals and 30 assists for 47 points in 76 games, averaging over 0.6 points per game in his age-35 season is still impressive.

Currently, the Senators are striving to break a seven-year playoff drought. Perron, having departed from a Red Wings team in a similar situation, aims to contribute to ending that streak and cultivate a culture of winning. “I want to be consistent every year,” Perron stated. “It’s one thing to be a leader and do all the right things and everything, but you also have to perform, you have to produce to your abilities – your ice time, whatever role you’re given you have to do it and hopefully a little bit more.”

Additionally, Perron looks forward to aiding Brady in the family rivalry. Matthew Tkachuk, Keith’s eldest son and Brady’s older brother, recently achieved his first Stanley Cup win with the Florida Panthers, so the younger brother has a championship to pursue.