As one of the NHL’s oldest active players who has a Stanley Cup and Hart Trophy on his resume, veteran right winger Corey Perry doesn’t really need to prove anything to anyone.

However, after a stellar performance last year that saw him and his Edmonton Oilers team make it to the Cup final for the second straight season, Perry was allowed to walk away from the Oilers as a free agent this summer and sign with the Los Angeles Kings on a one-year, $2-million contract with $1.25 million in performance bonuses built into it.

After the start of his Kings career has gone swimmingly, Perry is making the Oilers regret they let him go.

A knee injury prevented Perry from starting the season on time, but he has roared back to life with the Kings, posting seven goals and 11 points in 12 games. That puts him on a pace that would easily eclipse his 19-goal performance with the Oilers last season.

At 40, Perry is an injury risk to a degree, but the Kings incentivized his new contract, and right now, he looks like a terrific addition to a team that is striving for the type of deep post-season runs Perry has become famous for.

'I Don't Know How He Does It': Los Angeles Kings’ Corey Perry Playing Like An Anaheim Duck Los Angeles Kings right winger Corey Perry has been playing like he was with the Anaheim Ducks all those years ago, despite being in season No. 21 and as a 40-year-old.

And that leads us to ask – why didn’t the Oilers step up and keep Perry?

Edmonton had enough salary cap space to keep him. Instead, Edmonton re-signed Kasperi Kapanen and brought on forwards Andrew Mangiapane, Jack Roslovic, David Tomasek, Isaac Howard and Curtis Lazar. Perry departed with Connor Brown, Evander Kane, Viktor Arvidsson, Jeff Skinner and Derek Ryan.

We don’t know about you, but we would’ve chosen Perry and all that he brings to the table – namely, his snarl and his playoff pedigree – over what you’re getting in Lazar and Tomasek or even Kapanen or Roslovic.

Thus far this year, Roslovic has 12 points, but Mangiapane, Howard, Tomasek, Kapanen and Lazar have combined for 14 points. That's not much better than what Perry's been up to with the Kings.

Edmonton GM Stan Bowman’s decision to move on from Perry sure looks like a mistake to this writer. Perry’s playoff performance last spring – in which he put up 10 goals and 14 points in 22 games – should’ve made it a no-brainer decision to bring him back this season. But that didn’t happen, and that’s a decision Bowman and the Oilers have to live with.

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Edmonton sits 19th in the NHL with a goals-for average of 3.05, so Perry’s offense would’ve been welcomed by the Oilers this season. And while we understand the risk involved in signing one of the NHL’s oldest players, and that Los Angeles and Edmonton have different coaches with different systems, the Oilers took a calculated risk in moving on from Perry. As it stands right now, that’s a move Edmonton should want a mulligan on.

Perry's future beyond this season is uncertain, but if it's his final campaign, it should’ve come as a member of the Oilers. And if Perry and the Kings go further than Edmonton in the 2026 playoffs, Perry’s impact on the Kings could be a key reason the Oilers regret letting him go.   

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