Corey Perry positioned to leave Oilers after shocking new development

Reports surfaced from NHL insiders last week that Perry may make the decision to test free agency. Now given his contract asking price with Edmonton, it seems like he will.

On today's edition of OilersNow with Bob Stauffer, the Oilers insider revealed that Corey Perry is seeking up to $2.5M on his next contract - and Edmonton is just not willing or able to pay the price.

Corey Perry had an incredible season with the Edmonton Oilers considering his age and low contract value. He scored 19 goals and played 81 games, then added 14 more points in the playoffs. He's been a clutch player, and clearly a key figure in the locker room.

However, the Oilers are already in for a cap-crunch this offseason with a major raise needed for Evan Bouchard. It would be incredible difficult to give Perry that money, and then there's the concern that last year may have been his last effective year.

Fans may have expected Perry to return to Edmonton on another contract for near $1M, for another chance to win, and to keep his family rooted.

It's shocking he'd choose to uproot now to chase another payday - this is a player that's made $94M in career earnings.

Frankly, it's just not good salary cap management to pay someone who should be a 4th liner upwards of $2M. Perry could cash out one last time in free agency, because the Oilers shouldn't be the ones paying up.