At the age of 41, Los Angeles Kings veteran winger Corey Perry has continued to find ways to remain productive in a bottom-six role at the NHL level.
Perry is entering his 22nd NHL season this fall, and he is the second-oldest active player in the league, trailing only behind Colorado Avalanche 41-year-old defenseman Brent Burns. Despite his age, Perry showed this past season that he can still provide some valuable offensive production in a limited role.
The Hockey News' Courtney Nielson recently broke down what we can expect from some of the NHL's oldest players in the upcoming 2026-27 season, including Perry for the Kings. Their expectations for the veteran winger could provide a blueprint for how new head coach Peter Laviolette and the Kings should utilize him this upcoming season.
Corey Perry can still provide value in a limited role for the LA Kings
In this past regular season, Perry registered 17 goals, 20 assists, and 37 total points in 72 games played between the Kings and the Tampa Bay Lightning. In the 50 games he played in the first half of this past regular season with the Kings, Perry recorded 11 goals, 17 assists, and 28 total points.
He was traded to the Lightning around the deadline in early March. Perry would ultimately return to the Kings this offseason on a one-year, $1 million contract he signed in unrestricted free agency early this summer.
Registering double-digit goals and 28 total points at 40 years old is really solid production in a 50 game sample size for bottom-six production for the Kings last season.
Perry was particularly productive offensively when he first made his debut wearing the black and silver uniform early this past regular season. Once he returned from a lower-body injury he suffered in training camp last fall, Perry provided an immediate spark to the team in the offensive zone. He scored seven goals and 11 total points in the season's first 10 games he played for the Kings last fall.
For this upcoming season, Perry is projected to play potentially with the fourth-line forward group alongside center Alex Turcotte and winger Joel Armia. In that role in the bottom six, Perry doesn't need to be a major offensive spark and a play driver. He needs to give some secondary scoring, bring physicality, and forechecking in the offensive zone.
It's also noteworthy that Perry is closing in on a milestone for his NHL career. He's just 36 games away from reaching 1,500 career regular season games played. If he can remain healthy early this upcoming regular season, he should be able to reach that milestone fairly quickly.
I don't think the Kings should expect Perry to be able to reproduce the player he was around his prime in the NHL, but they don't need him to. Instead, if he can give them 10-12 effective minutes per game, contribute around the net and potentially on special teams on the second power-play unit, and provide some secondary offense, there's still a useful role for him at 41.
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