NHL insider reveals several teams' fear to sign Corey Perry

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Sam Walker
January 23, 2024 (3:59 PM)

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When Corey Perry came back to the league this season, there was an expectation of a lot of interest in the 19-year veteran, even though there was still mystery around the incident that led to his contract being terminated by the Chicago Blackhawks in November.

But now that Perry has signed a one-year, minimum contract with the Edmonton Oilers, it seems that the interest in the disgraced forward wasn't as strong as expected.

Hockey insider Nick Kypreos shared on Sportsnet Radio The Fan 590 that there was no bidding war or sweepstakes for Perry. The lack of details about the incident seemed to be a big problem for potential teams.

According to Kypreos, the uncertainty about the incident scared off many teams. If a hockey club thought about signing Perry without knowing all the details, the concern was:

There was no bidding war for him, there was no sweepstakes for Corey Perry... One of the things that was brought to my attention was not knowing the details... And that scared the hell out of a lot of teams.

If you're a hockey club and you thought about (signing) Corey Perry and you don't know all the details, the one thing that stands out is 'if I don't know all the details about this one incident, is there a potential that there are other incidents that might come out later? And they did not want to take that chance.

Oilers GM Ken Holland, who admitted that even he didn't have all the details, said that they were willing to take the risk to add a player known for playing

"playoff hockey, greasy, gritty, dirty."

Perry, a former Hart Trophy winner (2011), 50-goal scorer, and Stanley Cup winner (2007), has a career with 421 goals. He had nine points in 16 games in Chicago before he was released two months ago. The 38-year-old is expected to make his debut with the Oilers this coming Saturday night.