After his contract with the Chicago Blackhawks was abruptly terminated earlier this season, Corey Perry will play his first game as a member of the red hot Edmonton Oilers on Saturday afternoon.
Winners of 15 straight, the Oil continue to chase history when the Nashville Predators visit Rogers Place. Perry, who is slated to slot in on the third line alongside Ryan McLeod and Dylan Holloway, opened up on the next stage of his career on Friday.
“I'm excited, it's been a long two months, self-reflecting, going through a lot of things and I'm excited to be here now,” the Stanley Cup champion said, according to NHL.com's Derek Van Diest.
“Practice has been good. I've only had two real practices and a couple of morning skates, but for the most part, I felt OK. It's not the same, you can skate all you want by yourself and do all the things, but you have NHL players pushing on you and NHL goalies in the net, it's a different animal. We'll see how it is tomorrow and go from there.”
Perry hasn't played in two months
The 38-year-old signed a one-year, $775,000 contract on Monday with the Alberta-based franchise; he hasn't played a game since Nov. 19 when the Hawks terminated his contract for “[engaging] in conduct that is unacceptable and in violation of both the terms of his standard players contract and the Blackhawks' internal policies intended to promote professional and safe work environments.”
Perry has apologized and seemingly moved on from his short stint in the Windy City, in which he picked up four goals and nine points in 16 games.
And he's joining his new team at the perfect time; the Oilers are an NHL-best 25-6 since hiring Kris Knoblauch as head coach, and a ridiculous 23-3 since Nov. 24.
They're also just two victories away from tying the longest winning ever, set by the Pittsburgh Penguins in 1992-93.
“You can tell how close they really are; obviously when you win 15 in a row, you're going to be a little bit lighter in the dressing room and a little bit happier,” Perry explained.
“You can really see how close they are and what it means to them and what each person means to each other. It's been a warm welcome for me and I'm excited to really get down to the nitty gritty and play hockey and to get to know everybody as well at the same time.”
Knoblauch happy with Perry's progress
And Perry has already impressed his new coach.
“I think he's looked really good for not being able to play for a long period of time,” Knoblauch said Friday. “He'd been on the ice a little bit skating, but until you have an NHL practice and are doing game-like drills, you never know, but I think he's done really well. Right now, it's looking as if he'll play tomorrow.”
It'll be intriguing to see if the Oilers can keep their winning ways alive with Corey Perry in the lineup. The newest member of Edmonton's roster will be dialled in looking for 16 straight when puck drops just past 4 p.m. ET on Saturday.
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