Corey Perry

At 39 years old, Corey Perry has this physical status:

Corey Perry (born May 16, 1985) is a Canadian professional ice hockey winger who plays for the Dallas Stars in the National Hockey League (NHL).

He appeared for the first fourteen years of his playing with the Anaheim Ducks, serving as an alternate captain during the team's last six seasons. He earned a Memorial Cup with the Ontario Hockey League (OHL)'s London Knights, as well as a gold medal with Canada at the World Junior Championships during his major junior career.

Perry was drafted by the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim in the 2003 NHL Entry Draft, 28th overall, and he won the Stanley Cup with the team in 2007.

He had 29 goals and 25 assists in 2008, a new record.

He soared to 72 points in 2009 and was named to his first NHL All-Star Game.

Perry continued his ascension in 2010 as he scored 27 goals and had 49 assists.

In 2011, he was named the league's Most Valuable Player for the 2010–11 season.

He led the NHL with 50 goals and finished third in points behind Daniel Sedin and Martin St. Louis with 98. Perry has earned gold medals with Canada in the 2010 and 2014 Winter Olympics, both nationally and internationally.

In addition to winning the Stanley Cup and the Olympic gold medal, he became a member of the Triple Gold Club after captaining Canada to gold at the 2016 IIHF World Championships.

Perry is only the second player (joining Scott Niedermayer) to combine Triple Gold membership with gold at the World Junior Championships, a Memorial Cup victory, and a World Cup of Hockey victory.

Early life

Perry was born in New Liskeard, Ontario, on May 16, 1985, becoming the first of two boys born to Geoff and Nancy Perry. When Corey and his brother Adam learned to skate, he and his sister Adam learned to skate. He and his family immigrated from Haileybury, Ontario, to Peterborough, Ontario, at the age of 10. The Montreal Canadiens was his favorite NHL team as a youth.

Personal life

Adam Perry's younger brother, who played alongside him on the 2005 Memorial Cup-winning squad for the London Knights. Adam was the assistant coach of the London Nationals Junior B Team, but the team's parent, David, is currently in law enforcement, as well as their father. During the off-season, Perry lives in London, Ontario. Blakeny Robertson, his longtime girlfriend, married him on July 18, 2015, and they have a son.

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Playing career

Perry was a youth hockey player with the Peterborough Minor Petes AAA club of the OMHA's Eastern AAA league. Perry led his Petes to victory in the inaugural OHL Bantam AAA championship in Peterborough in 2001. Perry had a fruitful year offensively, scoring 73 goals in 67 games.

Perry was drafted fifth overall by the London Knights in the 2001 Priority Draft, following a stellar minor hockey career. He was off to a point-per-game speed for the Knights, averaging 59 points in 60 games in his rookie season. Perry increased to 78 points and was selected 28th overall in the 2003 NHL Entry Draft by the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim. Perry was supposed to be sent to the Edmonton Oilers in exchange for Mike Comrie, but the deal never came, as Oilers general manager Kevin Lowe ordered Comrie to repay a portion of his compensation.

Perry played 40 goals and 73 assists in just 66 games during the 2003-2004 season, becoming the first Knight to reach 100 points in a season since Jason Allison did so in 1994. The Ducks considered moving Perry to the Edmonton Oilers for Mike Comrie during the season. Perry was hired for Comrie by the Oilers, but there was one snag in the transaction: Emmonton believed that Comrie should return $2.5 million in salary. Comrie eventually refused to do so, and the deal eventually fell through. Perry scored seven more goals in the OHL playoffs, with his offensive prowess earning him a call-up to the Cincinnati Mighty Ducks, the Ducks' American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate for the remainder of the 2003–04 season. Perry was later named an OHL first-team All-Star after the season.

Perry scored a career-high 130 points in 60 games in his fourth and final year with the Knights in 2004-05. He went on to win the J. Ross Robertson Cup as the OHL champions en route to a Memorial Cup championship. Perry scored 11 goals and gave out 27 assists in 18 post-season games. In the final, the Knights defeated Rimouski Océanic of Sidney Crosby.

In 2005–06, Perry made his Ducks debut. However, he was called down to the AHL early in the year, as well as fellow rookie and future linemate Ryan Getzlaf. Perry scored his first goal against the Edmonton Oilers on October 10, while still advancing a point in each of his first four games. On January 28, he played his first multi-goal game against the Los Angeles Kings in his first career. Perry and Getzlaf played for 67 points in 36 games with the Portland Pirates, the Ducks' current AHL affiliate, and the Ducks were recalled by the Ducks shortly after the team's play in the 2006 Stanley Cup playoffs. Perry scored no goals in the playoffs but had three assists as the Ducks were eliminated from the Western Conference Final to Edmonton. Perry had 25 points in 56 games with Anaheim in his rookie season.

Perry, in 2006–07, shot his best in 82 games, teaming up with Ryan Getzlaf and Dustin Penner on a team dubbed the "Kid Line." He was able to win the Stanley Cup with Anaheim in 2007, scoring 15 points in 21 games. He scored a goal against the Ottawa Senators in Game 1 and the Finals, and in Game 3, he scored a goal that helped the Ducks take the lead. As the Ducks took the lead after the Senators tied the score, Perry assisted on Getzlaf's goal. However, the Senators defeated 5–3. The Senators had scored the last three goals of the game and won 5–3. Perry scored a goal and had an assist in the final game. Anaheim went on to win the next two games, securing the first-ever Stanley Cup.

Perry continued his success in 2007-08 as an injury replacement (along with Scott Niedermayer) to join Chris Pronger and Ryan Getzlaf as four Ducks on the Western Conference squad. Perry made Ducks history during the season by scoring a goal just 16 seconds into the game, his second fastest goal by a Duck. Despite the year's personal accomplishments, Anaheim was unable to repeat last year's playoff triumph, losing to the Dallas Stars in the 2008 Conference Quarterfinals. Perry was involved in three games and had two goals and an assist. Perry signed a five-year, $26.625 million contract extension in the upcoming off-season, which is identical to a deal where Ryan Getzlaf had agreed to during the previous off-season.

Perry's 2008–09 season was a record-breaking year. With 72 points, he led the Ducks to 32 goals and finished second on the team in points. In a game against the Vancouver Canucks on November 1, he scored five points, four of which were assists, marking a career high. Perry, on January 3, was suspended for four games by the NHL after elbowing Philadelphia Flyers forward Claude Giroux during the third period of a game on January 2. Perry scored four goals in the year's last five games on the regular season. Continuing his scoring streak, he added eight goals and six assists during the 2009 playoffs, when the Ducks advanced to Game 7 of the Western Conference Semifinals against the Detroit Red Wings, who ultimately ended the Ducks' season after their Game 7 victory. Perry scored the Ducks' second goal of the game. Perry scored a goal in Game 1, but the Ducks lost 32-22, while the Ducks won Game 2 with Perry providing two assists. Perry scored two goals and also received an assist in Game 3, but the Ducks lost 6–3. The Ducks lost Game 7 after Perry scored a goal and giving an assist.

Perry had a 19-game point streak from 2009-2010 against Dallas, which ended on December 4, 2009. He ended the year with 76 points and 111 penalty minutes. He also finished second on the team with 27 goals, trailing only Bobby Ryan's 35 and second in assists, who fell short of Ryan Getzlaf's 50.

Perry led the NHL with 50 goals in 2010–11, winning the Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy as a result, defeating the San Jose Sharks on April 6, 2011. He finished the season with 98 points, his third-best in the league, with 48 assists. Perry was also selected to the 2011 NHL All-Star Game, where he won the Shootout Elimination Challenge in the Skills Competition. Perry scored his first hat-trick in a game against the Minnesota Wild on December 12; he also had two assists in the game, giving him five points. His goals came at a time when he was healthy, shorthanded, and on the power play, making him the second Ducks player to score in all three situations, the other being Paul Kariya. Perry exploded offensively after the All-Star Game, rising from February 2 to 18, with at least one point in seven games in a row, and his second hat-trick against the Colorado Avalanche on February 5.

Perry maintained his blistering scoring rate as the season came to an end. Perry scored two more goals on March 9, his 32nd and 33rd goals of the season, as well as his previous career-high single-season goal total tally. In a victory over Colorado, Perry scored his second goal. In the next game, the Ducks defeated the Phoenix Coyotes after he scored the only two goals. Perry had at least a point in ten games over the past decade, before losing the NHL scoring lead to Steven Stamkos of the Tampa Bay Lightning when he scored two goals against the defending Stanley Cup champions, the Chicago Blackhawks. In a game against the San Jose Sharks on April 6, he scored his third hat-trick, and his third of the season, earning him 50 for the year. After winning the championship, he became only the third Ducks player to have a 50-goal season, with Teemu Selänne and Paul Kariya.

The Ducks finished with 99 points, good for their fourth seed in the West, and they will face the Nashville Predators in the 2011 Western Conference Quarterfinals, led by Perry's late-season scoring surge. Perry scored the Ducks' first goal on a power play against Pekka Rinne in Game 2 on Tuesday, giving the Ducks a 3–1 lead. As the Ducks defeated 5–3, Perry Ryan assisted on Bobby Ryan's empty-netter near the end of the game. Perry had two assists in Game 3, but the Ducks lost 4–3. He set up Cam Fowler's power play goal early in the first session, and Anaheim took the lead in a 6-4 victory. However, Perry scored no points in the last two games, neither of which the Ducks lost, thus excluding them from the playoffs. Perry had two goals and six assists in the series.

Perry became the NHL's regular season MVP at the 2010-11 season, defeating finalists Daniel Sedin and Martin St. Louis. He became the first Ducks player to win the Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy since Teemu Selänne in 1998–99.

Perry and the rest of the crew both suffered early in the season and the remainder of the team. Perry and his coworkers had a year off-year this year. Despite the sufficism, Perry was named in the 2012 NHL All-Star Game. Despite scoring 37 goals to lead the Western Conference, the Ducks missed the 2012 playoffs after finishing fifth in the Pacific Division and 13th in the Western Conference.

Perry and his colleagues got off to a much better start in the 2012–13 season, going 7–1–1 in their first nine games. Perry struggled to find the back of the net in his first 12 games, despite his teammates' success scoring goals. However, Perry began to find his scoring touch as the season progressed, winning with 15 goals and 36 points. Perry missed a late blow to Jason Zucker's head in a game against the Minnesota Wild. Perry was banned from playing after an investigation of the injury carried out by NHL executive Rob Blake.

Perry signed an eight-year, $69 million deal with the Ducks on March 18, 2013, ten days after Ryan Getzlaf agreed to a similar eight-year deal. Perry's 2013 playoffs would be a letdown, as he failed to score a single goal in the Detroit Red Wings' seven-game loss despite firing 24 shots on goal.

Perry's 2013-14 season was one of his best, with 43 goals and 82 points assisting the Ducks in their second straight Pacific Division championship. Perry was selected to the first All-Star team for the second time in his career.

When Perry was named to the 2016 NHL All-Star Game alongside teammate John Gibson, he was invited to his fourth All-Star Game.

Perry's goal production dropped from 34 in 2015–16 to 19 and 17 respectively in the ensuing seasons, which was down from 34 in 2015–16 to 19 and 17 respectively.

Perry was out for five months after suffering from a torn meniscus and MCL injury after beginning surgery on September 26, 2018. He played in 31 games during the second half of the 2018–19 season, winning 6 goals and ten points.

Perry's 14-year career with the Ducks came to an end on June 19, 2019. He was fired from the remaining two years of his eight-year deal to become an unrestricted free agent. His knee injury and apparent declining use prompted the buyout, but longtime colleague Ryan Getzlaf would later admit that it had also freed him from expectations, saying, "when you have him as a $9 million player rather than a half player," he said. It allows a player to go and be yourself rather than being judged on anything else, including his cap number."

Perry was hired by the Dallas Stars on July 1, 2019. He appeared in his 1,000th regular season NHL game against the Calgary Flames at the Scotiabank Saddledome on November 13, 2019. He became the 340th player to reach the milestone in NHL history. Perry was banned from playing elbowing Nashville defenseman Ryan Ellis at 2:40 of the first period during the 2020 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic. He was then suspended for five games until January 3, 2020, and forfeited $40,322.60. Before the regular season was prematurely ended by the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, Perry had 5 goals and 16 assists in 57 games.

When the season came, the Stars had been on a six-game losing streak, but when the NHL later announced the 2020 Stanley Cup playoffs in Edmonton in a bubble environment, it was anything but normal. Perry, who was playing with the Calgary Flames in the first round, was credited with a pivotal role in the team's victory in Game 2 after losing the first game and having an assist on Jamie Oleksiak's game-winning goal. He continued to play for the Colorado Avalanche in the second round, as well as filming Denis Gurianov's Western Conference Final-clinching goal against the Vegas Golden Knights. The Stars advanced to the Stanley Cup Finals in 2020 against the Tampa Bay Lightning. Perry's most notable feat came in Game 5 of the series, when he scored the overtime winner to prevent elimination from elimination, but the Stars were ultimately defeated in six games.

Despite his good postseason results, the Stars decided not to re-sign Perry, a decision that would later be discussed.

Perry moved from being a free agent to a one-year, $750,000 deal with the Montreal Canadiens on December 28, 2020. The NHL temporarily renamed all of its divisions, and in order to minimize travel, all teams played only within those divisions for the regular season. The Canadiens were members of the all-Canadian North Division. Perry was suspended by the Canadiens on January 11, 2021, for the express purpose of bringing him on the team's taxi team. Despite starting the season on the taxi team, Joel Armia's return to action will soon be available. He scored his 800th career point against the Vancouver Canucks on February 1 with an assist. Perry had a good showing during the regular season, finishing ninth in team scoring with 21 points.

The Canadiens qualified for their fourth berth in the North Division of the 2021 Stanley Cup playoffs, tying to face the Toronto Maple Leafs as the underdogs. Perry's crew will have a wild ride in the postseason, defeating the Leafs in seven games before sweeping the Winnipeg Jets in the second round and then beating the Golden Knights in six games. Perry attempted to leap over Leafs captain John Tavares, who had been knocked to the ground earlier in Game One, but Perry's knee clipped Tavares in the head. Tavares were hospitalized after a concussion and had to be stretchered off, and they did not return for the remainder of the series. Perry expressed regret for his part in the game: "I don't know what else to do there." I tried to jump. Johnny is a natural performer and I'm hoping he's OK." Perry's second straight and third appearance in the 2021 Stanley Cup Finals was a success early in the season. I went to the Conference Finals for the first time in my first year, and then we went on to win our second year. You feel it's going to happen over and over and over again. Sometimes you just keep the same team together and just ride the tide, but that is not the case. For the second year in a row, Perry faced the Lightning in the Finals for the second year in a row. In five games, the Canadiens were ultimately defeated.

Perry expressed a desire to return to the Canadiens following the conclusion of the regular season. However, general manager Marc Bergevin refused to offer Perry a two-year deal, and he chose to work somewhere else. Many people later said that this was one of Bergevin's worst decisions in the offseason.

Perry, who had competed in two straight Stanley Cup Finals losing games against the Tampa Bay Lightning, selected the back-to-back champions on a two-year, $2 million contract on July 29, 2021. On the occasion, he said, "I'm joining a team that I've never seen firsthand, the past two years." I want to win at the end of the day, where I am at in my career. I want to be a part of it, and I'm looking forward to it." He was appointed an alternate captain shortly after the 2021–22 season began. He scored his first goal against the Philadelphia Flyers on November 23, 2021, breaking with a 17-game scoring drought to begin the season. In the regular season, he would have scored 19 goals, his most since 2016–17, as well as 21 assists.

For the second year in a row, the Lightning qualified for the 2022 Stanley Cup playoffs, defeating the Maple Leafs in the first round for the second year in a row. In the second round, the Lightning then defeated the President' Trophy-winning Florida Panthers to advance to the Eastern Conference Final. Perry scored five goals in the first two rounds, tying Ross Colton for the team's lead. As a result of Brayden Point's injury, he saw Point's debut on the top power play unit, his presence on the team soared in the playoffs. The Lightning advanced to the 2022 Stanley Cup Finals after defeating the New York Rangers in a six-game series. Since Marián Hossa, Perry became the second player in the NHL to qualify for three years with three different clubs in three years. Perry became the first player in NHL history to score a goal in the Stanley Cup Finals with four different clubs after scoring a goal in Game 3. Perry lost his third straight Stanley Cup Finals with a different team this season, making him the first player to do so in NHL history.

Career statistics

Bold indicates led league

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