Edmonton Oilers missing Corey Perry, off to unbelievable start with LA Kings
Photo credit: Sergei Belski - USA TODAY Sports
Former-Oiler and veteran Corey Perry just keeps getting better, even in a league that keeps getting younger and more talented.
On any given night Perry is playing against guys half his age at twice his speed; yet, he is still managing to outperform most with the point-per-game pace he's on, 7 points in 7 games, including 5 goals.
40-year old Corey Perry has league-wide respect
«Everyone talks about speed and I understand that," Chicago captain Nick Foligno, 38, said when his team played the Oilers recently. "There's that component in our game but if you're smart enough to use your ability to advantage without, maybe, McDavid speed, you are still really effective. I think you see that with a lot of the older players in our game. They have a high hockey IQ,»
Indeed, it's Perry's hockey-smarts that allows him to compete at an age when most are thinking about, or are retiring. He was drafted in 2003, 23 years ago. The average age of an NHL player is 28.3. When you put that into perspective, what he's doing on the ice becomes even more special.
Nick Foligno, who played game 1,242 Saturday in the OT loss to the Oilers, had more to say about Corey Perry:
"Around the net, he's as good as anyone. There's no speed there. It's good hands, it's being strong and being willing. His goals are all within a 10-foot radius of the net. He's one of the best ever there.»
When Perry became a free agent this summer, Edmonton had offered him a contract, which he turned down. It included some bonuses, but ultimately wasn't enough to entice the veteran to stay.
The Kings offered Corey a $2M deal with an additional $2M in bonuses, $4M that was difficult to turn down, despite LA having lost to the Oilers the last four round-1 series in the playoffs.
«I'd be lying to you if I said I expected him to have this many goals already," said Kings' coach Jim Hiller. "But I've said it a couple of times, the puck just ends up on his stick. He spends time in front of the net and he takes a beating to do it."
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