Corey Perry signs one-year contract with Edmonton Oilers
The Edmonton Oilers have signed 38-year-old forward Corey Perry to a one-year contract worth a league-minimum $775,000.
SIGNED ✔️
The #Oilers have signed forward Corey Perry to a one-year contract with an average annual value (AAV) of $775K plus performance bonuses. Perry will wear number 90.#LetsGoOilers pic.twitter.com/gJP2VlEqhD
Perry scored four goals and five assists for nine points in 16 games with the Chicago Blackhawks this season before the club terminated his contract in November.
While full details aren’t clear, the Blackhawks released a statement at the time saying, “(Perry) engaged in conduct that is unacceptable, and in violation of both the terms of his standard player’s contract and the Blackhawks’ internal policies intended to promote professional and safe work environments.”
Following the incident, Perry apologized by adding, “I would like to sincerely apologize to the entire Chicago Blackhawks organization, including ownership, management, coaches, trainers, employees, and my teammates. I would also like to apologize to my fans, and my family. I am embarrassed and have let you all down.
The Oilers are 26-15-1 with 53 points, third in the Western Conference’s Pacific Division. With their 3-1 win over their divisional rival Calgary Flames on Saturday, the Oilers extended their winning streak to a franchise-record 13 games, and are now four games away from tying the Pittsburgh Penguins’ 17-game winning streak from the 1992-93 season.
Drafted 28th overall by the Anaheim Ducks in the 2003 NHL Entry Draft, Perry has 421 goals and 471 assists for 892 points in 1,273 career games across 19 NHL seasons, playing with the Ducks, Dallas Stars, Montreal Canadiens, Tampa Bay Lightning and the Blackhawks.
Perry has also played in the Stanley Cup Playoffs 15 times, scoring 53 goals and 71 assists for 124 points in 196 career post-season games. He won a Stanley Cup with the Ducks in 2007, and in the latter half of his career, made it to three consecutive Stanley Cup Finals with three different teams: 2020 with the Stars, 2021 with the Canadiens and 2022 with the Lightning.
His best career season was in 2010-11, scoring a league-leading 50 goals, along with 48 assists for 98 points, dragging the Anaheim Ducks to the Stanley Cup Playoffs and winning both the Maurice Rocket Richard Trophy for most goals and the Hart Trophy for the league’s most valuable player.
The native of Peterborough, Ont. has compiled one of the most successful careers in hockey history. Perry is a member of the Triple Gold Club (Stanley Cup, Olympics, World Championship), winning two Olympic gold medals with Canada at the 2010 and 2014 Winter Olympics, respectively, then captaining Canada to gold at the 2016 World Hockey Championships.
Perry would also win a gold medal with the 2005 Canadian World Junior Championship squad, playing on a line with Sidney Crosby and Patrice Bergeron and scoring two goals and five assists for seven points.
Perry led the 2004-05 London Knights in the greatest single-season in junior hockey history, with the team going 59-7-2 and Perry scoring 47 goals and 83 assists for 130 points in 60 games. In the post-season, he would score 11 goals and 27 assists for 38 points in only 18 games, helping the Knights earn an OHL Championship. Perry would be named both league MVP and playoff MVP.
After winning the league title, Perry and the Knights would host the Memorial Cup and face Crosby and the QMJHL’s Rimouski Oceanic in the tournament final, with the Knights winning 4-0. Perry would be named tournament MVP.