EDMONTON — Mark Hunter remembers pulling Corey Perry aside for a chat.
The co-owner and general manager of the Ontario Hockey League’s London Knights wanted to make sure his player understood the consequences.
“Grit, hitting people and punching people,” Hunter recalled of the skinny teenager’s on-ice approach. “He was like 160 pounds … ‘Seriously Corey, don’t be doing that. You might get hurt by somebody.’
“But he didn’t want to be pushed around. There was desire to be the best.”
Not much has changed.
The 40-year-old Oilers winger in his 20th NHL season is playing important minutes and making big contributions as Edmonton sits tied 1-1 with Florida in a Stanley Cup final rematch.
Promoted to the team’s top line alongside superstar captain Connor McDavid since Zach Hyman suffered a dislocated wrist last round, Perry forced overtime with 17.8 seconds remaining in regulation in Friday’s Game 2 before the defending champion Panthers secured a 5-4 victory in double OT.
The motivation remains the same as when he played for the Knights.
“To win,” said Perry, who was selected 28th overall by Anaheim at the 2003 draft and won his only Cup with the Mighty Ducks in 2007. “I love being around the rink, I love being around the guys, I love the competitive fire that’s still inside me.”
The Peterborough, Ont., product joined the Oilers midway through last season following an ugly end to his brief stint with the Chicago Blackhawks.
Signed to mentor an up-and-coming roster, the club terminated his deal in November 2023 after alleging he violated his standard player contract and team policies “intended to promote professional and safe work environments.” Neither the Blackhawks nor Perry were willing to provide details.
Perry apologized for his actions and said he’d started seeking help for alcohol abuse before signing with Edmonton after a meeting with NHL commissioner Gary Bettman.
“The situation that happened, it happened,” Perry said earlier this week. “I’ve dealt with it and I’ve learned from it. It was unfortunate.”
McDavid said Perry’s calming presence was for a team that roared back to force Game 7 in last year’s final against the Panthers after falling behind 3-0 in the title series.
“Makes great, subtle, little plays,” said Edmonton’s No. 97. “His gamesmanship, understands the ebbs and flows of the games, the intricacies that not every fan sitting at home understands. He’s played in every big game.”
Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch said Perry was crucial in last year’s run to the final that ended in heartbreak.
“Allowed the team to settle things down,” said the second-year head coach. “When he spoke, guys listened because of the respect that they have for him.”
Dale Hunter — Mark’s brother and the Knights’ head coach who had Perry in London from 2001 to 2005 — said his passion for the game hasn’t wavered.
“He’s a battler,” said Dale Hunter, who won the Memorial Cup with Perry in his final junior season before the Knights also climbed Canadian junior hockey’s mountain in 2016 and again last month. “He loved hockey, and it’s never changed.”
The Hart Trophy winner as NHL MVP in 2011 with Anaheim has 448 goals and 487 assists for 935 points across 1,392 contests with six franchises over his two decades in the league. He’s added 62 goals, including eight this spring alone, and 77 assists for 139 points in 233 playoff contests.
Oilers defenceman Darnell Nurse said he and Perry, who is in his sixth Cup final and plans to play a 21st campaign in 2025-26, have talked about their past battles.
“We’ve had some fun moments,” said Nurse. “He’s been so important for this group — the experience and all the big moments that he’s played in.”
Perry, who had 19 goals and 11 assists in 81 games in 2024-25 while averaging just under 12 minutes of ice time, said getting ready each summer — especially the short ones after long post-season runs — is an increasing challenge.
“You try to give your body some time to rest,” he said. “But you’re also like, ‘Man, we’ve got to be back in camp in six weeks.'”
These are good times for Perry. His seven-year-old son, Griffin, is a staple around the Oilers, including at NHL media day before the start of the Cup final.
He’s also been through some tough times. Apart from the contract termination in Chicago, he was bought out of the final two years of his long-term deal with the Ducks in June 2019 for salary-cap reasons.
“The highest of highs and some pretty low moments,” he said. “I use that as motivation.”
Mark Hunter said players — their desires and priorities — often change with age.
But not Perry.
“They lose that gleam in their eye,” Hunter said. “If you watch him, there is excitement, passion, desire, loving the moment. It’s hard to find at 40. People don’t usually have that, but he does.
“Makes him special.”
— With file from Daniel Rainbird in Rimouski, Que.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 6, 2025.
Joshua Clipperton, The Canadian Press
