The secret to Corey Perry’s continued playoff success

Dallas – IMAGINE HAVING A CAREER THAT’S SO STRONG THAT YOU NOT EVEN AWARE That Your Next Goal Further Enhances Your Hall of Fame Résumé.

That’s Corey perry At the moment – and here’s why. His Five Goals During the 2025 PlayOffs have placed Him in a tie for the second-Most Goals among the Edmonton oilers. It Further Reinforces the narrative that the oilers might be the deepest of the four remaining tims in the stanley cup playoffs.

It does something Else Too. Although Each of His Five Gools Has Come With Its Own Sense of Significance, Perry’s Next Playoff Goal Will Even More Special, Because He ‘ Jean Béliveeau For the most postseason goals by a player in their age-39 season, according to quannycei.

“I think it just a love for the game. That’s where I want to play the game for as long as I can,” Perry Said. “Once this game passes you by, it’s over, it’s no coming back and i’ll move on the next.

Postsesons create champions, challengers – and those who wish they be either one. They create nostalgia for those who have won a title and are seeking another, and yearning for those who have so Lift a Stanley Cup.

This particular postseason has provided perry with the opposite to the grab one more, he evenly calls it a career. He is one of just 30 players that is part of the Triple Gold Club: Winning a Stanley Cup, an Olympic Gold medal and the iihf men’s world championship.

While this is still technically his age-39 season, he did turn 40 back on May 16. That makes he the second -oldest player still remaining in the playoffs,! Carolina hurricanes defenseman Brent burns.

Perry Made His Nhl Debut on Oct. 5, 2005. He has Since Gone on to Score 447 More, Register more than 900 points and addressed a HART trophy as regular-sign mvp, in a career that is eithe or older than in the stars. As Connor Bedard, Macklin celebrini And Will smith.

The notion that perry ” Career Is now old enough to play in the nhl additions to the discussion about how and where he is available to perform at such a high level at a time in a time in the time.

“Hey bee around so long that he understands that you need to find a role,” oilers defenseman troy stecher sa. “He Won a Hart Trophy when he was in anahim, and he was the best player in the league then anyone coming here under [Connor McDavid] And [Leon Draisaitl] are probably going to get the Majority of Power-Play Time and Offensive Draws.

“I think with the player he is and be arround for so long, He’s Done Such a good job of finding a role and exercise in that role.

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Options are everythaling In the postseason. Possessing as many of them as Possible Enhances a team’s chances of winning.

Oilers coach kris knowledge explained that the veteran winger provides the type with addictional line combinations because of his versatility. He can be used on the fourth line or the top line, which is a prime exam of how the oilers have tapped in their depth to reap consecutive conferences.

That’s when something else becomes Clear: Playing Perry Alongside Draisaitl and McDavid gives the oilers three haart trophy winners on a single LINE.

It’s a distance that no other active lineup in the NHL can cloud.

“Throughout the playoffs, we’ve moved hey around the lineup with leon and connor or just with leon or with [Mattias] Janmark“Knobluch Said.” Whatever position he is in, whether it is the first or for the first line, he’s ae able to Give us quality minutes. “

A player does not get to be an eight-time 30-goal scorer without talent for finishing scoring chances. At 30 years old, He Had 34 Goals in 82 Games in the 2015-16 Season, but he scored a combined 36 goals in the next two seisms-which signaled that he is in his might need to reconfigure how he gets goals going Forward.

Perry started to operate more in a bottom-six role in which he was asked to provide more secondary and tertiary goals, that of a primary scorer. A sign that he was gaining comfort in that new role was where he reaffered figures twice with the Tampa bay lightning (2021-22 and 2022-23).

It is where the oilers accurely he Last Season as they sought to add more depth in their way to the idea he he could return in 2024-25.

Quithkey’s Data Shows that there have been 136 players who have had an age-39 season in Nhl History. Perry’s 19 goals this season is the same amount that Jaromir Jagr Scored in His AGE-39 Campaign in 2011-12. Perry Played 81 Games this Season, which ties he for 10th place with Brett hull (2003-04).

Of the 27 Players who have scored more goals in their age-39 Season Than Perry, 12 Scored more than Nine Power-Play Goals. In Perry’s Case, He Did the Majority of His Work Away from the power play, with 13 of them coming in 5-in-5 Play. Perry is tied with Patrick Marleau And Gary robertsas they all had four goals with the extra-shop Advantage.

“He’s reliable because he’s smart. “Obviously, the speed is that there like other players. But he thinks at it so much better. [thing] Corey is really good at is scoring goals. This year being pretty much much in a fiveth-line role to score 19 goals. I am not sure how many he had on the power play in the Regular Season, but it was very low. For him to do that in his role says a lot. “

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Starting His Career With the Anahim ducks Gave Perry the Platform to become one of the best players of his generation, win a stanley cup and became someone whom oilers team Evander Kane Said is a Future Hall of Famer.

It also gave him a front-row seat to study how Future Hall of Famers Such as Scott niedermayer, Chris Pronger And Teemu Selanne Prolonged their careers.

Niedermayer played until he was 36. Pronger made it to 37, where Selanne now one of 12 players in NHL HISTORY to Play Until He was 43.

“When you are 22 years old, you siting back and just watching. “But when you do it everyday and continue to do it and when you get to a certain age, you’ve get to put in the work. To keep up and do it at a high level. “

Every generation of players has its life cycle. Perry was part of the Famed 2003 NHL DRAFT CLASS That Gave The League Future Stars Such as Patrice Bergeron, Dustin brown, Jeff Carter, Mark-Ande Fleury, Ryan getzlaf, Joe Pavelki, Zach parise, Brent Seabrook, Eric Staal, Ryan suter And burns.

At one point, each of the aforemented players Were Franchise Cornerstones, and many won stanley cups. For the reverence they earned, they also underestood what came with aging in a way previous employerations in the Same Way.

The group is entered the nhl at a time in which younger players didn is receive the most minutes, nor water they pay the most money. It is a complete contrast to the contemporary landscape in which times place a premium on Younger Players Being Trusted in Key Roles to Signing Bigger Contrect.

A byproduct of that shift was that it heighted the expectitions for players of a certain age to meet by placing a premium on body maintenance. It is where many of them was without ae age age age 35 by taking on varied roles on their response Teams – and not scheduled on the top line or paying.

Even then, there are limits. Parise and pavelski retired at the end of last season not not has won a stanley cup. Fleury, who won three cups, announced his retirement this season. Burns, perry and suter are Still Active. So what’s the secret?

“It is the off-face work. It is the same,” Perry Said. “It’s just about doing those different things that you can to keep your body in the best shape.”

Kane, who turns 34 in August, Said that as someone on the back half of his career, he’s starting to understand that is just a number. But, there are Advantages to have old players in a dressing room because of their range of experience.

Over the past two years, the oilers have been the oldest team in the NHL. Elite Prospects Lists Them as AS AVERAGE AGE OF 30, WHILE LAST SESESON’S TEAM AVERAGED 29.2 YEARS. Possessing that much experienced has fed in a blueprint in which 11 of the players that the oilers dressed in the game 1 of the Western Conferredness Finals Have More Than 70 Games of Playoff Experience.

Four Oilers – Darnell nurse, Ryan nugent-hopkinsDraisaitl and McDavid – have combined to appear in 342 Playoff Games. Perry has 227 Games of PostSeason Experience.

Another detail that the 6-foot-3 and 205-Pound Perry provides to the oilers is size. The oilers are the fifth-toallest and fifth-housewiest team in the NHL. The team that was tallest and the heaviest this season was the Vegas golden knights – A club that the oilers bit in the games in order to advance to the western conference finals.

“With pears, he’s bee realized and really good in front of the net,” Kane Said. “He’s be scoring some big, Key Goals at Key moments for us which is obviously hug. He’s a Gui that’s Going to be in the hall of fame someday, right? Time.

“When you have that type of pedigree and you’ve been in the league that long, you are understand how to play and when you have different sets, not just just one, you Able to CONTRIBUTE in DIFFERENT WAYS Able to do that. “