EDMONTON — Corey Perry intends to continue playing next season, which would be his 21st in the NHL.
“That’s the plan is to be back next year, yeah,” the Edmonton Oilers forward said during Stanley Cup Final media day at Rogers Place on Tuesday, the eve of Game 1 here against the Florida Panthers (8 p.m. ET; CBC, TVAS, SN, TNT, truTV, MAX).
The 40-year-old signed a one-year, $1.4 million contract on July 1, 2024, to play his second season with the Oilers. He has 10 points (seven goals, three assists) in 16 games this postseason after having 30 points (19 goals, 11 assists) in 81 regular-season games.
Perry is playing in the Cup Final for the fifth time in the past six seasons and sixth time in his career. He was here with the Oilers last season after reaching the last round with the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2022, the Montreal Canadiens in 2021, the Dallas Stars in 2020 and the Anaheim Ducks in 2007, his lone Stanley Cup championship. Edmonton lost 2-1 to Florida in Game 7 of the Cup Final last season.
He’s the 17th player under the 16-team playoff format and first since Petr Sykora (2012) to play in the Cup Final at least six times. Perry has 137 points (61 goals, 76 assists) in 231 NHL playoff games.
A first-round pick (No. 28) by the Ducks in the 2003 NHL Draft, he has 935 points (448 goals, 487 assists) in 1,392 regular-season games with the Ducks, Stars, Canadiens, Lightning, Chicago Blackhawks and the Oilers.
Asked if he’s thought about retirement at all the past few seasons, Perry said, “Not really, no.”
“It’s just not in me to think about it; there are other things that I love doing,” he said. “I love playing, I love being around the room and I don’t think that’s going to come to my head anytime soon.”
