When free agency opened back on July 1, the Edmonton Oilers wasted little time re-signing veteran forward Corey Perry to a one-year contract worth $1.4 million. From some perspectives, the move didn’t make a lot of sense. After all, Perry had turned 39 on May 16, and Father Time remains undefeated. But more than two months into the 2024-25 NHL season, it appears that apologies may be in order from those who questioned the signing.
Perry Ranks Fourth on Team in Goals
Perry has suited up for all 31 of Edmonton’s games thus far. He’s already scored six times, tied for fourth most on the team, trailing only the star trio of Leon Draisaitl, Connor McDavid and Zach Hyman. The winger is on pace for his second-most goals in a season since 2017-18.
“The Worm” continues to live up to his nickname, irritating the opposition as few can. He’s even dropped the gloves a couple times this season, squaring off with players 15 years his junior.
While he’s only playing an average of 11:31 per game, second fewest among the regulars in Edmonton’s lineup, he’s capably playing a meaningful bottom-six role. And that’s more than many would have thought only six months ago.
Perry’s Play Declined During Postseason
Perry first joined the Oilers last January, signing with Edmonton as a free agent for the league minimum after having his contract terminated by his previous team, the Chicago Blackhawks. In 38 regular season appearances with the Oilers, he recorded eight goals and five assists while playing almost 13 minutes per game.
But during the 2024 NHL Playoffs, there were serious signs of Perry slowing down. He was made a healthy scratch several times over the course of Edmonton’s run to Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final, and finished the postseason with just one goal, two assists, and a minus-3 rating.
If Perry was already struggling to keep up last spring, common sense says that a player of his age was only going to be another step or two behind the next season.
Perry’s Experience is an Asset
Edmonton added Perry for his experience, which included nearly 200 postseason games, one Stanley Cup championship (2007 with the Anaheim Ducks) and three other trips to the Stanley Cup Final (2020 with the Dallas Stars, 2021 with the Montreal Canadiens, and 2022 with the Tampa Bay Lightning). At the time he signed, no one else on Edmonton’s roster had a Stanley Cup ring, and only three others had even played in the championship series.
Related: Making Sense of Oilers’ Decision to Bring Back Corey Perry for $1.4 Million
Now, after the Oilers battled through four rounds of the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs, the element that Perry originally provided is no longer scarce. With the game appearing to have passed him by, it no longer made sense to employ Perry strictly for his experience. Especially if he was taking up the roster spot that would have been filled by a younger, more capable forward, such as the ones Edmonton ended up saying goodbye to during the offseason, like Dylan Holloway and Ryan McLeod.
But Perry’s place in the locker room was obviously important – it was widely speculated in the media that the Oilers leadership core pushed for his return. And his presence on the ice so far this fall certainly hasn’t been a negative.
Perry Is Making a Positive Impact
Four of Perry’s six goals have either tied the game or given Edmonton the lead, and he’s got one game-winning goal. His two scraps have provided a needed spark to the team: in both cases, the Oilers were trailing at the time he fought and went on to win the game.
At age 39, Perry’s stats so far in 2024-25 are far superior to the prior five seasons combined, when he was between ages 33 and 38. His goals per game is up, from .178 to .194, his Corsi is up, from 49.9% to 54.2%, and his Fenwick is up, from 50.1% to 53.2%.
It’s one thing to perform at this level for 31 games at the start of the season. It will be another to maintain performance for six more months, if Edmonton can make a deep postseason run in 2025. Should the Oilers even just get back to the Western Conference Final, Perry will be 40 years old when the puck drops for Game 1.
So yes, time will tell, but right now Perry deserves a lot of credit for playing his role on one of the hottest teams in the NHL. He’s got points in back-to-back games and will look to make the streak a season-high of three when Edmonton hosts the Boston Bruins tonight (Dec. 19) at Rogers Place.
