Oilers to Sign Perry
EDMONTON, AB - NOV 12, 2023: Ken Holland addresses the media at Rogers Place. Photo Credit: Oilers TV
January 21, 2024 by Ryan Lotsberg
We are still waiting for an official announcement from the club, but multiple reports suggest that Corey Perry has agreed to a one-year deal with the Edmonton Oilers. David Pagnotta had the report first. Ryan Rishaug has since confirmed the report.
Perry had his contract terminated by the Chicago Blackhawks earlier this season. The Blackhawks released this statement on the matter:
“After an internal investigation, the Chicago Blackhawks have determined that Corey Perry has engaged in conduct that is unacceptable, and in violation both of the terms of his Standard Player’s Contract and the Blackhawks’ internal policies intended to promote professional and safe work environments. As such, Corey Perry has been placed on unconditional waivers. In the event Mr. Perry clears waivers, we intend to terminate his contract effective immediately.”
This was Perry’s statement regarding this matter:
Perry mentioned struggles with mental health and alcohol in his statement. I hope that he has taken the necessary steps to address those issues so that he can find peace and live a healthy life.
We don’t know what Perry did, nor will we ever know. There is an element of risk in this signing from a public relations perspective. There is also a risk from a team cultural perspective. Regardless of the details, the bottom line is that the NHL has allowed Perry to sign with another team. The Oilers have proven that they have a strong dressing room with a positive culture, and they have a track record of having players with troubled pasts coming in and succeeding.
Perry was having a nice season with the Blackhawks. The 38-year old had nine points in sixteen games with the Blackhawks before his contract was terminated. He is two years removed from a season where he scored 40 points in 82 games with the Tampa Bay Lightning. It’s clear that he isn’t the Hart Trophy and Rocket Richard Trophy winner that he was in 2010-11 anymore, but he can still contribute meaningfully at the NHL level.
I’m not going to put a lot of stock into Perry’s underlying statistics from his sixteen games with the Blackhawks because they’re a rebuilding team. They’re poor and expectedly so. There’s some reason for concern because according to Natural Stat Trick, Perry has only had a goal share above 50% in one of his last six seasons. However, Perry’s scoring chance share has been above 50% in each of the last five seasons. That makes me less concerned about his goal share issues.
His struggles in goal share could be explained by the fact that he has an on-ice shooting percentage over 9.95% in only three of his last six seasons. That’s not his personal shooting percentage, that takes the shooting percentages of his teammates while he’s on the ice into consideration as well. He has played a bottom six role for the vast majority of the last six seasons, which means that he has played with below average finishers.
The Oilers have been rolling of late. They have now won thirteen consecutive games, which is a new record for a Canadian-based franchise. However, no team is perfect. Depth scoring has always been an issue for the Oilers, with the exception of last season. Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl have not been producing offence at the ridiculous levels that we have come to see and expect from them lately, but their lines are doing the bulk of the scoring.
The offensive contributions from forwards that have been playing in the bottom six during the winning streak such as Derek Ryan, Mattias Janmark, Connor Brown, Evander Kane, and James Hamblin were minimal. They have been solid defensively, but they have not been providing offence.
Sam Gagner has three points in three games during this winning streak. Kane is the only forward I mentioned that has outscored Gagner during the winning streak. Kane has three of his five points during the winning streak in the last week where has been playing with Draisaitl again. That should tell you all you need to know about the kind of production the Oilers are getting from their bottom six forwards. Dylan Holloway’s return to the lineup might help boost bottom six production a little bit.
The addition of Perry should certainly help in that regard as well. The Oilers have lacked a right-handed winger that can finish for years. Perry has made a long career out of scoring goals, but I’m interested in recent numbers. His shooting percentages over the last four seasons (including this one) are 14.5%, 12.4%, 10.3%, and 15.4%. That’s highly encouraging!
The Oilers are weak at right wing. They have Zach Hyman, who is more comfortable at left wing, playing the right side. You wouldn’t know it based on his production this season, but that’s the case. Warren Foegele is also a left winger that has shifted over to the right side. He has surprisingly been a nice fit alongside Draisaitl on the second line. Brown was signed to fill the vacancy on the right side in the top six when Kailer Yamamoto was traded, but he hasn’t scored a goal yet this season. Ryan and Gagner are right shots that have been playing wing in the bottom six.
Related: Zach Hyman continues to prove he’s an all-star
Perry gives the Oilers another right-handed option that can add a little bit of production. He will predominantly play in the bottom six, but he certainly has the IQ to play alongside Draisaitl or McDavid in a pinch, as we’ve seen players like Gagner and Janmark have to do at different times this season.
Kane was celebrated for his ability to drag others into the fight during his first season with the Oilers. Perry has that same ability. He’s a pest that likes to get under players’ skin. He does it in sneaky ways that aren’t overtly dirty, but he’s annoying to play against. Perry is the type of player that you hate to play against, but you love to have on your team. The Oilers don’t have many of those types of players. Perry gives the Oilers the option of having two lines with a player that can drag others into the fight, or he could be on a super annoying line with Kane. Either way, Perry’s skillset is going to be nice to have in the playoffs.
Speaking of the playoffs, Perry has a ton of playoff experience. 196 games worth, to be exact. He won a Stanley Cup with the Anaheim Ducks in 2007. He lost in three consecutive Stanley Cup Finals with the Dallas Stars, Montreal Canadiens, and Tampa Bay Lightning from 2020-2022. Perry went to the Conference Finals on two other occasions, once in 2014-15 and once in 2016-17 when his Ducks eliminated the Oilers in the second round (we won’t bring up those painful memories here).
Perry also has plenty of international success on his resume. He was a part of the 2005 Canadian World Junior team that is often celebrated as the best World Junior team of all time. He won two Olympic gold medals for Canada, once in 2010 and once in 2014. Perry also won a World Championship in 2016.
Related: Anatomy of a Franchise Record 10-Game Win Streak
Perry understands what it takes to win. This feels a little bit like the Oilers acquiring Duncan Keith. Keith was 39 years old, and he brought his championship pedigree to the Oilers and played a part in leading them to the Conference Finals. Perry’s experience will certainly be a positive asset in the playoffs.
The Oilers are in a “Cup or bust” season with precious little cap space. Adding to the roster with such little cap space takes some creativity and an opportunistic mindset. The Oilers had an opportunity to add Perry while his value was at its lowest, and they struck. It’s a low value contract with potential performance bonuses that the Oilers didn’t have to spend any assets to acquire. That’s the kind of move that makes all the sense in the world from the Oilers’ perspective.
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