Corey Perry has made a career out of being a problem for the Los Angeles Kings, either with his time with the Edmonton Oilers or before that the nearly 15 seasons he spent with the Anaheim Ducks. It was certainly surprising to see Perry join the Los Angeles Kings this offseason as a free agent, although it isn't overly surprising when considering that Ken Holland was the general manager who brought him to Edmonton two seasons ago.
Recently, Perry spoke with NHL.com about the move from Edmonton to Los Angeles. He noted the history between him and the franchise and how it will be odd initially but he believes this is a great fit for him at this point in his career.
"“All I know is that I like the way the team is constructed,” he said. “They’ve always been hard to play against.
“Like I said, it will feel weird at first. For the early parts of my career, I had a rivalry with the Kings fans and the players. Now I’m one of them."
When is that moment that it will be the weirdest for Corey Perry playing for the LA Kings?
For Perry, he said it will probably really hit him when he is playing his first game in Anaheim against the Ducks.
"“It’ll be strange to be in that building in a Kings jersey,” he said with a chuckle. “After all, there were a lot of years where I was on the home team there and they were the enemy.”"
The good news for Perry is that he should get over that feeling fairly early in the season. In fact, the first time that it could take place is on September 28th in a preseason game against the Ducks at the Honda Center.
If Perry doesn't play in the preseason game, the next road game for the Kings against the Ducks isn't until November 28th, which is the 24th regular season game. The hope would be by that point, Perry is going to be familiar and feel right at home with the Kings, even if he is returning to a place he called home as the enemy.
Corey Perry and the Los Angeles Kings have a common goal that they are desperately trying to achieve and that is win a Stanley Cup. However, Perry has been much closer recently as he has appeared in five out of the last six.
The decision to join the Kings should be a confidence boost for the organization that a player who has been this close has chosen to join the Kings as he hopes to win another one before he calls it a career. It will be interesting if that ends up happening this season.