Hart Trophy winner, Maurice Richard Trophy winner, Memorial Cup champion, World Junior Champion, World Champion, Olympic gold medalist and a Stanley Cup Champion. These are just some of Corey Perry’s achievements throughout his storied hockey career.
Corey Perry’s early days in the NHL
Perry was drafted 28th overall by the Mighty Ducks Of Anaheim in 2003. In that draft the Mighty Ducks got Perry and Ryan Getzlaf. They didn’t know it at the time, but those two kids would become one of the best duos in the NHL, leading the Ducks to enormous success. However, his impact wasn’t immediate, Perry returned to the London Knights of the OHL and led them to the Memorial Cup championship in 2005. Widely regarded as the greatest junior hockey team ever assembled.
In his second season in Anaheim in 2007, the Ducks won the Stanley Cup led by Conn Smythe winner Scott Niedermayer, Jean-Sebastian Geigure, and former Oiler Chris Pronger. It seemed that the Ducks were destined for a dynasty and they’d continue to build around Perry and Getzlaf. The Ducks got close, but didn’t win another cup.
Perry continued his winning ways at the 2010 Winter Olympics winning gold with Team Canada alongside his teammates Niedermayer, and Getzlaf. Perry is now one of three players on the 2010 roster that are still in the NHL, the other two: Drew Doughty, and Sidney Crosby.
Perry’s superstar status
Perry’s career year came in the 2010–11 season, when he scored 50 goals and 98 points earning himself the Maurice Richard Trophy, awarded to the player with the most goals. And the Hart Trophy awarded to the league’s Most Valuable Player.
Throughout his time with the Ducks, Perry was comparable to what you’ll now see out of guys like the Tkachuk brothers. Perry was the kind of guy that you hated to play against, but you loved him if you were Ducks fan. With the addition of Ryan Kesler via a trade at the 2014 NHL Draft, the Ducks established themselves as the villain around the league.
Perry loves getting under the skin of his opponents as Edmonton Oilers fans are well aware. He’s not afraid to “accidentally” fall on top of the other team’s goalie, spray water in Jeff Carter’s gloves, or take Alexander Semin’s stick straight out of his hands, as he’s getting ready for a line change. Perry has made a living off of being that type of player.
But, his game goes beyond that. Perry is unbelievably clutch, scoring big goals in big games, and continuing to show up in the playoffs, when you need all hands on deck to be successful. This was especially evident after his days in Anaheim. Perry signed with the Dallas Stars in 2019 and went to the Stanley Cup Final with them in 2020, continuing to step up in big moments. Scoring the overtime winner in Game 5 of that series.
However, that’s not his only playoff OT winner, he has five! Including three in the Ducks 2017 run to the Western Conference Final with the most memorable one coming against the Oilers in Game 5 capping the Ducks infamous 3–0 comeback with under four minutes left with Perry scoring the game winner in double overtime.
Breaking records for the wrong reason
After losing in the Stanley Cup Final with Dallas, Perry decided to take his talents north of the border to the Montreal Canadiens. He went back to the Final with them, again losing to Tampa Bay. You know what they say, “If you can’t beat them, join them!” because the following year Perry signed with the Lightning to help in their pursuit of a three-peat. They eventually lost to the Colorado Avalanche in the Stanley Cup Final.
Perry became the first and, at this time, only player to go to the Stanley Cup Final with three different teams in consecutive years. Fast-forward to the 2023–24 season, when Perry signed a one-year contract with the Chicago Blackhawks. However, after his off-ice behaviour was deemed inappropriate, his contract was terminated after just 16 games.
New hope for the team and player
On January 22, 2024. Perry signed a one-year contract with the Oilers for the league minimum salary of $775,000. He would end up being on a fifth team that went to the Stanley Cup Final and his fourth final in five years. Fans began to believe in the “Corey Perry curse” after the Oilers lost to the Florida Panthers—that whatever team Perry was on would go on to lose in the Stanley Cup Final.
Perry has seemed to have found a new home in Edmonton, re-signing for $1.15M for the 2024–25 season. This season put up 19 goals and played in 81 games for the Oilers, becoming a fan favourite. Through their first round series against the Los Angeles Kings, he was put on a line with Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, so far having three points, and he likely isn’t done yet.
As a Stanley Cup champion, Hart Trophy winner, Maurice Richard Trophy winner, a Memorial Cup champion, CHL player of the year, and a member of the Triple Gold Club for winning the Stanley Cup, Olympic gold, and the World Championship, on top of winning the World Juniors in 2005, Corey Perry is a first-ballot Hall of Famer. Given he’s 39-years-old, he will likely call it a career in the coming years, but Perry is the kind of player who seems to just love playing hockey. And he will likely play as long as his body allows him to do so.
You’ve probably heard players say that they would have to be dragged off the ice, and Perry is that kind of player. PuckPedia estimates his career earnings at $107.64 M. So, $1.1M AAV isn’t a massive deal for him and his family, but he’s the type of player who would play for free.
