Corey Perry, an Edmonton Oilers forward, admits he would have retired by now if he was still with the Anaheim Ducks.
Corey Perry recently spoke on the Missin Curfew podcast, where he discussed his departure from the Anaheim Ducks in 2019. The Ducks made the difficult choice to buy out Perry’s contract for the final two years, making him an unrestricted free agent.
The Peterborough, Ontario native told Shane O’Brien and Scotty Upshall that if he was still with the Anaheim Ducks, he would have retired from the National Hockey League by now, and that quitting the team helped extend his career.
‘That was a tough conversation. I remember being in Toronto with my wife and going for dinner with my agents. They told me the news right at dinner. They wanted to do a face to face and they wanted to tell me before the word got out and it started circulating and got back to me. So, it’s tough to hear those words. It’s a kick to your ego, a kick to your character. But at the end of the day, everybody knows this place is a business, that what we’re doing is a business and they decided to go in a different way.’ Perry said.
He added, At the end of the day, it’s probably helped by career, to say the least. That’s probably why I’m still playing. If I stay in Anaheim, I don’t think I’d still be playing. I think I’d be retired and doing something else. So, it was tough hearing those words coming out of their mouth and hearing the news, but it lit a fire under my ass and that’s why I’m still going.’
After leaving Anaheim in 2019, the 39-year-old has made stops in Dallas, Montreal, Tampa Bay, Chicago and now, Edmonton, reaching the Stanley Cup Final on four occasions, but hasn’t been able to hoist it since 2007 with the Ducks.
The Anaheim Ducks parting ways with Corey Perry was the right decision for both sides at the time. Anaheim was a team in transition, heading in the direction of a rebuild, while Perry was entering the twilight of his career and was given the chance to go chase another Stanley Cup.
We’ll have to wait and see what the 2024-25 season has in store for Corey Perry and the Edmonton Oilers, but currently FanDuel has them with the best odds to win the Stanley Cup this year at +850.
Corey Perry talks about leaving the #AnaheimDucks after 14 seasons with the club #MissinCurfew Ep 317 | @DKNetwork @DKSportsbook | #DKPartner pic.twitter.com/MlnzHpEIKL
— Missin Curfew (@MissinCurfew) September 6, 2024
