The Corey Perry injury is awful news for the Los Angeles Kings, as he was signed to give the team veteran depth at the position. This was a concern for Jim Hiller during the playoffs so the addition of Perry, along with Joel Armia, should give him the confidence to stretch his bench over the course of the season.
The good news is that the timetable for his return is six to eight weeks, so the fact that it happened as early as it did in training camp means he should only miss at most the first month of the season. While it is a long-term injury, he won't miss most of the regular season, and in fact, this creates a scenario that fans could be excited about.
Corey Perry's injury could open the door for Liam Greentree to begin the season with the Los Angeles Kings
There is no question that Kings' fans are excited to see Liam Greentree on the ice for them in the NHL. He was the team's first-round pick in 2024 after 90 points with the Windsor Spitfire and got only better last season with 119 points.
Due to some rules in the CBA, the only options for Greentree this season were the NHL or the OHL. For the coaching staff, the question would be whether or not they want to use a year of his contract in the NHL if he wasn't going to have a regular role in this offense.
However, the injury to Perry now creates an opportunity where they don't really need to make that decision right now and still get him experience in the NHL. If he is on the roster on Opening Night and plays only nine games, it won't count as a year towards his entry-level contract.
This is something that the Kings have done in the past, and most recently, it was with Brandt Clarke in 2022.
The pressure will be on Liam Greentree to show that he is ready for the NHL during training camp and the preseason. He has not been able to practice much this summer as he recovers from a wrist injury, and he will need to show that there are no lingering effects from that.
However, if he plays like everyone expects he can, this seems like a great solution to a disappointing situation with Perry's injury.