The Curse of Corey Perry Continues To Be The Most Torturous Tradition In Sports
Jamie Squire. Getty Images.There's nobody who has played more hockey than Corey Perry over the last 6 years. 57 regular season games in a COVID-shortened 2019-20 season with the Dallas Stars, followed up by 27 playoff games with a trip to the Cup Final. 49 games in another shortened 2020-21 season with the Montreal Canadiens, followed up by 22 playoff games with a trip to the Cup Final. 82 games in the 2021-22 season with the Tampa Bay Lightning, followed up by 23 playoff games with a trip to the Cup Final. Another 81 games with Tampa in 2022-23, followed up by just 6 playoff games. 54 games between Chicago and Edmonton in the 2023-24 season, followed by 19 playoff games with a trip to the Cup Final. And finally 81 games in the 2024-25 season with the Edmonton Oilers, followed up by 22 playoff games with a trip to the Cup Final
All in all, that is 404 regular season games and 119 Stanley Cup Playoff games over the course of 6 seasons. He played for 5 different teams during that stretch, and advanced to the Stanley Cup Final in 5 of those seasons with 4 of those teams. What does Corey Perry have to show for it?
I can't tell if it's the most heartbreaking tradition in sports, or the greatest. The odds of this happening are unfathomable. To end up on a team seemingly every year that is good enough to win the conference, but not good enough to win the whole thing. Think about how hard it is for most teams to even get to the Stanley Cup Final in the first place. There are only 7 teams who have played in the Stanley Cup Final over the last 6 years. Tampa 3x, Florida 3x, Edmonton 2x, Vegas, Colorado, Dallas, and Montreal. He's played for 4 of them. He's played on one of the teams that have actually won a Cup during that stretch, but just happened to be on the team the one year they lost in the Final.
It seems like it should be impossible. The amount of hate and vitriol the Hockey Gods are showing towards Corey Perry right now seems harsh and unusual. What did the Worm do to deserve this torturous fate? We may never know.
All we do know is that right now there is a certain team in the NHL who is dying to get back to the Stanley Cup Final for the first time since 1967. They don't need to win the Cup, they just need to get back to the Final. They are shedding a ton of salary with Mitch Marner coming off the books this year. If I'm the Toronto Maple Leafs, I'm doing everything in my power this offseason to bring Corey Perry home. Just a kid from Peterborough.