Kings training camp hasn’t even opened yet and the storylines are already in full commotion. Adrian Kempe’s possible contract extension isn’t the only thing creating an early buzz, there’s also the matter of Corey Perry’s surgery.
As reported last Friday, Perry suffered an on-ice injury while skating with many of his new teammates at Toyota Sports Performance Center in El Segundo.
Over the weekend, Kings PR released a statement announcing that Perry will miss around 6-8 weeks. With an approximate target date of late November — a timeline that, like all injuries, is very much subject to change based upon the healing process — let’s do some math.
When all is said and done, this injury could end up costing Perry $250k or more. His contract carries a $2M AAV (comprised of $1M in salary and $1M in signing bonus), plus another $2M in potential performance bonuses.
For starters, let’s breakdown that first $2M. Some people have asked why his contract is structured this way. Rather than signing for $2M in salary, this allows a player to receive $1M up front (in signing bonus money) and then the remaining $1M (salary) spread out over the course of the NHL regular season. It’s more of a cash flow situation, even though both scenarios impact a team’s salary cap the same way; with Perry carrying a $2M AAV toward LA’s cap.
Next, let’s delve into the bonus portion…
Perry’s potential of earning $2M in additional bonus money breaks down as:
$500K at 10 GP
$250K at 20 GP
$250K at 30 GP
$250K at 40 GP
$250K at 50 GP
$125K if LA wins Round 1
$250K if LA wins Round 2
$125K if LA wins Round 3
Using the above ETA of Friday, Nov. 28 vs. Anaheim as a hypothetical return game, Perry would be coming back at Game No. 24. In other words, he will have missed 23 games, but more importantly, only have 59 games remaining in the regular season to reach all of his pre-playoff bonuses. That could be cutting it a bit tight. Coming back that afternoon would only give him a nine-game buffer for the rest of the season. What if he had another minor injury later in the season that caused him to miss a few games? What if coach Jim Hiller scratched him a few games to let other players rotate into the lineup?
And, perhaps equally as likely, what if his return from this surgery just took a little longer than expected? Pushing his return date back just two weeks (returning on Saturday, Dec. 13 vs. Calgary) would mean he’d be coming back at Game No. 31, leaving only 51 games total remaining in the regular season. That final $250k could very much be in jeopardy at that point. The $250k for 40 GP could also be at risk in that scenario.
For now, it’s a wait and see approach by both Perry and the Kings. Surgery was said to have went well, now begins a waiting game. The 40-year-old forward will eventually make his way back to the ice, then following his own sort of ‘training camp’ to get back in shape, he’ll rejoin his teammates for practice at some point. It will likely be the usual drill, first he returns in a red no-contact jersey, then he’s cleared for regular participation in practice, before getting the green light to make his official Kings debut. When exactly will that be? Stay tuned.
Potential Bonus Benefit to LA
There are two other aspects to the Perry contract we should also explore here. The first has to do with how performance bonuses actually impact a team’s salary cap.
Essentially, they’re tacked on at the end of the season — if a team has enough room to pay them and remain cap compliant. If the bonus money earned pushes a team over the cap, that overage is reduced from a team’s cap number the following season.
The Kings are actually in this exact situation currently. They couldn’t tuck Darcy Kuemper’s bonus money under the cap limit last season, so that money is reduced from this year’s cap ceiling. We wrote about this topic a few years ago with a detailed article explaining Cam Talbot’s bonus money.
According to PuckPedia, LA’s 2024-25 salary cap limit was lowered by $212K due to bonus carry over from last year (money earned via Quinton Byfield’s contract).
With the Perry injury, the Kings should open the season with about $2M in cap space. Thus, they should barely have enough room to cover any performance bonuses he earns.
However, there are two additional things to keep in mind. Sammy Helenius and Brandt Clarke ($850k) also have performance bonuses in their contracts — so that could add to the cap room needed if the Kings don’t want to be hit with an overage penalty for next year.
Plus, what if they acquire a — for argument’s sake — a player carrying a $5M AAV at the Trade Deadline next March. That too would all be money needed to tuck up under the cap ceiling. Thus, any bonus money not paid to Perry actually helps the Kings cap situation long term.
LTIR, Perry, and the Kings
One final comment on Perry and the salary cap: it doesn’t appear like placing him on LTIR to save some cap space is really an option at this point.
In short, the Kings are projected to be cap compliant on opening night (including Perry on IR), with more than $1M in available space. Even though players who are on regular IR count against the cap, LA still has plenty of breathing room.
If their 24-man roster (again, 23 healthy + Perry on IR) put them over the cap limit, they could then look into placing Perry on LTIR for some relief. However, that’s not the situation, as regardless of who takes Perry’s place on the active roster — something we looked at here — that won’t be enough of a cap hit to push them over the limit.
As weird as this may sound, the Kings actually have ‘too much’ extra cap space right now. In other words, they’ll be able to absorb his $2M AAV without using any form of LTIR.
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