Maple Leafs officially linked to Corey Perry

Yesterday, the NHL announced that former Tampa Bay Lightning and Chicago Blackhawks forward Corey Perry is eligible to sign with any team he pleases. At the end of November, Perry had his contract terminated by the Blackhawks following a very mysterious incident that occurred prior to a game in Columbus on November 22nd.

NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman was quick to point out that Perry was not technically unable to sign with any club after his termination from Chicago, but meeting with Bettman certainly helped his cause in finding work again. According to TSN's Chris Johnston, Perry would have to sign with a team by the March 8th trade deadline to be eligible to play in the playoffs.

On TSN's First Up this morning, Mike Johnson and Carlo Colaiacovo discussed where Perry would likely sign and how many teams would have interest in the former Stanley Cup Champion.





Colaiacovo went a step further and revealed that there has been mutual interest between Perry and the Leafs. The Leafs have shown interest in the past, but have either lost out due to being unable to match salary or simply deciding to go in a different direction. Perry has had the Leafs' number in the playoffs during his time with the Tampa Bay Lightning and, of course, the Montreal Canadiens. Obviously, everyone remembers the infamous accidental knee that knocked Leafs captain John Tavares out of their first round series during the COVID bubble playoffs as well.

Adding Perry would be easy for the Leafs to do salary wise, and would certainly add much-needed sandpaper and skill to the bottom-six. In 1,273 regular season games, Perry has amassed 421 goals, 892 points and 1,392 penalty minutes and in 196 playoff games has 53 goals, 124 points and 271 penalty minutes.