Corey Perry could have reduced role on Edmonton Oilers this year, says insider

Turning 40 years old in the upcoming season, Perry is obviously slowing down with age. He'll still be able to help the team as a veteran presence and a pest in the bottom six, but according to Jason Gregor, Corey Perry could be pushed to the press box by Raphael Lavoie.

- Jason Gregor, OilersNation

Raphael Lavoie was selected by the Oilers in the second round of the 2019 draft, and has now had a few successful seasons in the AHL. Last season, Lavoie scored 28 goals and 50 points in 66 games, and the Oilers could use that kind of secondary scoring and youth down in the lineup.

It wouldn't be abnormal for a team to plan a reduced work load for a veteran like Perry throughout the year, and give an opportunity to a younger player in Lavoie. Last year's oldest player in the NHL was Mark Giordano with the Leafs, and he also was given «load management» by the Leafs sports science staff. Right now the Oilers have a bit of extra salary cap space, so they could have room to carry both players and keep both playing regularly. It may be possible that they want to inject more youth, as Jason Gregor also recently suggested three players that could take veteran Derek Ryan's fourth line job.

As of now, the Edmonton Oilers rank as the oldest team by average age in the NHL. From purely an organizational standpoint, it's a good move to try to inject some youth along the margins, and keep developing players for future seasons. Lavoie will certainly be giving it his all this training camp, and try to make it impossible for the Oilers to send him down.

Source for Lavoie Stats: PuckPedia - Raphael Lavoie

Source for Perry Stats: PuckPedia - Corey Perry