One of the few mistakes the Blackhawks made last season was to bring in veteran winger Corey Perry. Now he's Edmonton's problem and just plain silly.
The Chicago Blackhawks signed veteran winger Corey Perry to a one-year, $4 million contract last summer to provide veteran leadership.
The former Stanley Cup and Hart Trophy winner — and one-time 50-goal scorer — was supposed to look after kids like Connor Bedard and steer them in the right direction, albeit with a crusty old-school style. Perry came with hearty endorsement from coach Luke Richardson, who liked how the forward had mentored younger Canadiens players when Richardson was an assistant in Montréal.
And early in the 2023-24 season, the winger showed he had enough hockey smarts to help a bit on the ice. Perry, who turns 39 on Thursday, scored four goals and nine points in 16 games.
Then Perry did something not so smart. Exactly what it was, the team has never disclosed.
He violated the team's HR policy in an off-ice setting, apparently (at least) offending or seriously bothering other employees.
In the aftermath of the Brad Aldrich sexual assault and harassment scandal, the Blackhawks say they will run a squeaky-clean business that conforms to corporate best-practice standards. That comes from on-high, from owner and chairman Danny Wirtz.
After an internal investigation, Perry was released from the Blackhawks on Nov. 28, 2023. It was an emotional day that stung general manager Kyle Davidson and the organization.
Perry apologized in writing, with help from his agent and the NHLPA. He said he was seeking help for alcohol abuse. He even met with NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman seeking a blessing and image improvement.
The Edmonton Oilers and GM Ken Holland signed Perry to a one-year contract on Jan. 22. The winger apparently has behaved off the ice, but "The Worm" has been as obnoxious as ever on it.
But it you want to know how Perry got to Edmonton, here's our story on his tumultuous 2023-24 timeline.
Perry's on-ice show has been pretty tired. That includes mixing it up with Canucks players in the Oilers tight playoffs series with the Vancouver Canucks. The best-of-seven set is tied at two games apiece.
Perry doesn't have a point in nine playoff games and has been averaging only 11:20 of ice time.
His most visible effort: Trying to goad some Canucks players into extra-curricular activities, including using a mock cross-check to the throat of Vancouver forward Brock Boeser in a the Oilers' 3-2 win at Edmonton on Tuesday.
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