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Corey Perry is doing the exact opposite of if you can't beat them, join them. After spending the last two seasons with the Edmonton Oilers — and knocking out the Los Angeles Kings in Round 1 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs both times — the veteran forward is joining the SoCal franchise.
Joel Armia, who has spent the last seven seasons with the Montreal Canadiens, is also heading to California to join the Kings.
It will be a one-year deal for Perry, with salary and bonuses worth around $3.5 million, The Athletic's Pierre LeBrun reported. For Armia, it's two years at a $2.5 million AAV, per LeBrun.
It's decent value for a couple of veterans who should help the Kings as they try to get over the hump — and out of the first round of the postseason — in 2025-26.
Although there were rumblings that Perry wanted to remain in Alberta, the Oilers are strapped tight to the salary cap after the massive $42 million contract extension Evan Bouchard signed on Monday. He was pried out of Edmonton to join an LA team that should be a playoff contender for years to come.
Perry has lost in the Stanley Cup Final each of the last two years with the Oilers, and has a brutal 1-5 record in Finals overall. He won it all with the Anaheim Ducks in 2007, the team that selected him 28th overall in the 2003 NHL Draft, but has lost in each of his last five appearances.
That includes defeats in 2020 with the Dallas Stars, 2021 with the Canadiens and 2022 with the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Perry and Armia were teammates in 2020-21, helping the Habs surprisingly march out of the COVID-formed Northern Division and all the way to the Stanley Cup Final. They were eventually defeated by the Lightning in five games.
Armia, selected 16th overall by the Buffalo Sabres in 2011, has proven to be a strong defensive forward throughout his career, and he chipped in 29 points in 81 games last year. Perry added 30 points with the Oilers in the same amount of games, and was exceptional in the postseason, scoring 10 goals and 14 points in 22 games.
Both Perry and Armia should help in Los Angeles' quest to get out of the first round of the playoffs, something that hasn't happened since the franchise captured Lord Stanley back in 2014.
Every signing is being documented in ClutchPoints' 2025 NHL Free Agency tracker.
