Oilers have interest in signing Corey Perry: report
Could the Edmonton Oilers sign yet another player who had their contract terminated mid-season?
After doing so with Evander Kane in 2022, it sounds like it could happen again with Corey Perry. The 38-year-old had his contract terminated by the Chicago Blackhawks earlier this season and is now free to sign a new contract with another team.
The Oilers are reportedly one of the teams interested in bringing Perry into the fold. Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli appeared on the Kevin Karius Show on Sports 1440 this morning to give an update on the Perry/Oilers connection.
“For the Oilers, their due diligence [on Perry] has been ongoing for weeks,” said Seravalli. “This is certainly a player that makes sense for [the Oilers]; they’re interested in, I think the interest is mutual.
“I think [Edmonton] is on his list, a shortlist of teams that would really be a good fit for him as he tries to chase that elusive second Stanley Cup… we’ll see where this goes, but it does connect a lot of dots.”
Perry was able to score nine points in his 16 games with the Blackhawks this season and was seen as one of their better players before the contract was terminated for reasons that are still not fully known.
That “due diligence” that Seravalli mentioned will have to determine whether or not the Oilers should be offering an olive branch to Perry despite all the controversy that has plagued his time in Chicago. Edmonton was able to forgive it in Kane’s circumstance, but every situation is different.
Outside of the obvious red flags, the Oilers’ interest in Perry should not come as much of a surprise. Despite being on a 10-game heater, the team is not getting a lot of production from their bottom-six forward lines and could use a spark to get the depth scoring going.
Bringing in Perry would not only give the bottom-six a boost in terms of production but also add in a player that can easily get under the skin of opponents and make playing against the Oilers even more of a chore than it already is.
The only player that the team has that can bring that sort of energy is Kane, who is going through a bit of a rough patch.
From a cap perspective, it also fits as Perry will most likely not demand a ton of money on the open market right now, making him a very attractive option for a cap-strapped Oilers team.
Seravalli went on to say that this situation will most likely have to wait until after next month’s All-Star break to get resolved. Until then, the rumour mill is sure to be in full swing as the NHL trade deadline is also quickly approaching.