NHL player cut for ‘unacceptable’ behavior lands with new team
Forward Corey Perry found a new NHL home less than two months after having his contract terminated for “unacceptable” behavior.
The Edmonton Oilers, who are on a team-record 13-game winning streak, announced on Jan. 22 that they signed Perry, 38, to a one-year, $775,000 contract.
The contract also has up to $325,000 in performance bonuses, according to Cap
Friendly.
Perry was waived and cut by the Chicago Blackhawks in late November.
He and the Blackhawks never gave details on what he did to lead the team to release him, but both sides said it didn’t involve any players or their family members.
“I have started working with experts in the mental health and substance abuse fields to discuss my struggles with alcohol and I will take whatever steps necessary to ensure this never happens again,” Perry said in a Nov. 30 statement in which he apologized for his “inappropriate and wrong” behavior.
Perry was a free agent eligible to sign with any other team.
He met this month with NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman, according to The Associated Press, though the meeting didn’t deal with his eligibility.
The Oilers host the Blackhawks on Jan. 25.
Perry won a Stanley Cup with the Anaheim Ducks in 2007 and was league MVP in 2010-11.
He went to the Final in three consecutive seasons with the Dallas Stars (2020), Montreal Canadiens (2021) and Tampa Bay Lightning (2022).
He has 53 goals and 124 points in 196 career playoff games.
That history will be important to an Oilers team that hasn’t been to the Stanley Cup Final since 2006.
The gritty forward had nine points in 16 games this season with the Blackhawks, who had acquired him from the Lightning and signed him to a one-year, $4 million contract.