The “Worm” is set to make his Edmonton Oiler debut on Saturday against the Nashville Predators. After years of being a thorn in the butt of many Oilers fans, he’s now on the good guys side. We all know Corey Perry’s history playing against the Oilers, especially in that 2017 playoff series, but what has Perry done to other teams around the league? Has he been a much of a sneaky pest to them as he has to teams such as us, Calgary, L.A., etc?
Well today, I’m going over some of Perry’s best(?)…. most annoying?… most effective?… antics over the course of his career.
Tavares injury
I will not be showing any pictures or videos due to the graphic nature. However, everyone knows the story. In game one of the first round series between the Montreal Canadiens and the Toronto Maple Leafs, Captain John Tavares was exiting the defensive zone when Ben Chiarot delivered a clean, hard hit. Tavares fell onto the ice and tried to get back up when Perry snapped his head back with his knee. Tavares suffered a concussion and a knee injury on the play.
Was it unintentional to injure him? 100%. But Perry does have a long history of cheap shotting guys when they are already down, so while he didn’t intend for the outcome to occur, do we really believe he wasn’t trying to take Tavares out of the play even more? The Tavares injury was enough for the Leafs to choke a 3–1 series lead and lose in seven games.
Kicked out of the Winter Classic
In 2020, the Nashville Predators and the Dallas Stars faced off in the Winter Classic. Less than three minutes into the game, Perry, who went to retrieve a new stick, delivered an elbow to the head on defenceman Ryan Ellis, which caused an injury on the play.
This resulted in Corey getting a five minute major and ultimately being kicked out of the game for elbowing; however his team did end up winning. He was suspended for five games on January 3, 2020, and forfeited $40,322.60.
Slash on Josi
A few months after the Winter Classic, and literal days before the COVID-19 pandemic ended the NHL season, on March 7 2020, Perry sneakily gave Roman Josi a two-hand slash on his legs. Josi, infuriated, retaliated by cross checking Perry into the head and ended up taking a penalty on the play. Josi also got fined for this play.
Check to Karlsson’s head
Once again, we have another check to the head from Perry, which like the last two, resulted in an injury. In 2018, Game 1 between the San Jose Sharks and the Anaheim Ducks was a close one. The Sharks were up 3–2 with a few minutes remaining in regulation. There was a battle in the Sharks zone, with Brendan Dillion and Melker Karlsson fighting in the corner with Nick Ritchie for a loose puck.
In comes Perry, again on a late hit, targeting Karlsson’s head. Perry received only a minor penalty for the play. Karlsson was not injured on the play. The Sharks swept the Ducks that series.
Hit on Zucker
On March 13, 2013, in the second period between the Ducks and the Minnesota Wild, Perry landed a huge, late elbow to the face on then rookie Jason Zucker. Zucker laid motionless on the ice for a few moments and Perry was immediately ejected from the game. Zucker later got up with help from the medical staff and his teammates. The Ducks right winger was suspended for four games without pay by the NHL.
Other minor incidences
Some other things Perry has done have included the likes of: shooting the puck into the net after a whistle, stealing opposing players’ sticks on the bench (Alex Semin), filling up the gloves of opposing players with water (Jeff Carter), holding onto Marian Hossa’s stick and then dropping it, ripping off Matt Martin’s helmet mid-game and refusing to fight, did the same thing to Dylan Demelo and refused to fight Logan Stanley, and there’s still a lot more!
He’s ours, Oiler fans. I know people hate goons and dirty players, but Perry’s a guy that’s gonna make the opponents mad and take dumb penalties, which allows the best power play of all time do it’s job.
