The Edmonton Oilers are expected to sign free agent forward Corey Perry, according to The Fourth Period’s David Pagnotta. According to Pagnotta, an official announcement of the deal is expected later on Sunday.
Just ten days ago, it was reported that Perry’s market was heating up and that “several” teams had expressed interest in adding the veteran. His availability on the open market comes as a result of the termination of his contract with the Chicago Blackhawks in November.
The Blackhawks signed Perry, 38, to a one-year, $4M contract after acquiring his signing rights from Tampa Bay in a trade. The former Hart Trophy winner managed four goals and nine points through 16 games in Chicago before the team removed him from the lineup for an incident that the team said violated the terms of his contract and organizational standards. Perry issued a statement shortly after his termination, stating he would “discuss his struggles with alcohol” with behavioral health experts.
Perry now has a new team, the Oilers, and by signing there he’s joining arguably the hottest team in hockey. Kris Knoblauch’s men are riding a thirteen-game winning streak and, despite an atrocious start, are now just six points behind the Vegas Golden Knights for second place in the Pacific Division, with four games in hand.
Looking at where he might fit into the Oilers’ lineup, Perry could end up taking Derek Ryan’s spot as the third-line right winger, which would allow Ryan to shift back to the fourth-line center position. As CapFriendly notes, the Oilers don’t have the cap space at the moment to sign Perry outright, they’d need to pair his signing with a corresponding move. Sending center James Hamblin back to the AHL’s Bakersfield Condors could accomplish that, as Ryan would take Hamblin’s spot as the fourth-line center.
He is unlikely to be able to pierce the Oilers’ top six considering how well they’re playing, but getting a look in a net-front power-play role isn’t out of the question if he can get off to a strong start overall in Alberta.