Watching Corey Perry dawn a black and silver Kings jersey for the first time was tough for a lot of fans. Social media has been running wild at the very idea ever since he first signed in LA as an unrestricted free agent back in July. Goals and wins cure all though, and both have come regularly since Perry’s debut against the Blues on Oct. 21st.
The 40-year-old forward made an instant impact, helping the team to a 4-1-2 record with five goals and seven points in the seven games since he joined the lineup. Saturday marked their first loss in regulation over that span — and it was a game in which they outshot the Devils 44-22, including a team leading 6 SOG from Perry.
Anyone surprised by his success likely hasn’t been paying enough attention in recent years. Love him or hate him (or even some combination of both emotions), Perry has continued to be an impactful player even into his late 30s, and now early 40s.
That scoring touch that’s led to over 450 goals and more than 900 points doesn’t leave a player, and Perry has continued to adapt his game as he’s aged.
He rarely attacks defenders 1-on-1 now or scores on highlight reel plays; instead, his three most recent goals have all come from in and around the net. According to NHL Edge analytics, he’s in the bottom 50% of players for skating speed and distance covered. Yet he’s getting the job done, nonetheless.
His influence on coach Jim Hiller’s current squad was felt immediately, and it hasn’t been only with goals and points. Perry has given LA’s bench boss so many more options within his lineup, especially as injuries continue to plague the Kings.
Having someone who can comfortably play in any role from fourth line to up too on the first line is massive for a coach. Additionally, it’s been evident from his first game on what Perry can do on the power play.
Kings management had been searching for a player who plays this type of game for a while, and Perry has delivered as advertised. Former GM Rob Blake talked about getting uncomfortable and playing in the interior of the ice more, and that’s exactly what Perry does.
More recently, Drew Doughty’s thoughts summed it up perfectly after a game in San Jose earlier this week.
“I told everyone this was going to happen,” said LA’s alternate captain. “He’s a great player, great pro. My goal was solely because of him standing in front of the net. We don’t have enough guys that do that; to be honest with you, he’s one of our only ones. It’s something our other guys should learn from him.”
Those thoughts built upon Doughty’s comments during training camp, where he said: “[Perry has been] one of my friends for a long time. Always enemies, playing against him. Always going at it, always being a rat; doing things to me. But [he’s] great for our team, great for the locker room. He’s a freaking gamer. He comes up in big games; he’s going to play his best. Net front presence. We needed blue paint guys. We only really had [Foegele]. Everybody else was perimeter. Now we have, Pears!”
Winning teams need players who are willing and able to get those greasy goals, to ‘play the game the right way’ and Perry is clearly one of the best ever at it.
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