Insider reveals when Corey Perry will first play with the Edmonton Oilers
Yesterday afternoon, the Edmonton Oilers made the move to sign Corey Perry, adding an incredible player to their bottom six. After having his contract terminated after an undisclosed incident in Chicago, the Oilers conducted an investigation of their own along with the Hawks and the NHL, and when no other incidents were found, the Oilers put pen to paper with Perry. Insider Frank Seravalli is now reporting that Perry will play at least one game with the Oilers before the All-Star Break.
Taking this to mean the Oilers will only attempt to get him in before that, it's likely Perry joins the team only for practices on their current home stand, and perhaps makes his Oilers debut in the last game before the break - against the Nashville Predators on January 27th.
According to Mark Spector, Perry will be joining the Oilers for his first practice today.
Questions had been raised about when Perry will join the Oilers and suit up for games, considering he hasn't seen game action in over two months. However, he's reportedly been skating and keeping warm during that time.
As a 38 year old, Perry may need some time to get back up to speed, but he's also a veteran and has returned to hockey after long layoffs multiple times. In Perry, the Oilers add so many elements to their bottom six and to the entire team. Perry can provide depth scoring, some size and a physical presence, and veteran Stanley cup experience. He still has a scoring touch too, scoring 4 goals and 9 points in 16 games with the Blackhawks, and scored 19 goals as recently as 2022 - so Perry could earn some looks on the powerplay or even in the top six group at times.
Seravalli also revealed the other teams interested in Perry until the last moments yesterday when he officially signed with the Oilers. The Kings, Rangers, Leafs, and Lightning were all in discussions with Perry when he chose the Oilers.
It's an incredible signing for the Oilers who are already riding high from a 13 game winning streak. Adding Perry to the team now will be another shot in the arm as the Oilers hopefully continue to climb the standings. After their horrid start to this year, they now seem like they could be the Cup favourites again.
| POLL | ||
Will Perry play in the top six or bottom six? | ||
| Top six | 90 | 14.9 % |
| Bottom six | 320 | 52.9 % |
| Bottom six, but will get looks with top lines | 166 | 27.4 % |
| See Results | 29 | 4.8 % |
| List of polls | ||
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