Corey Perry is once again a Tampa Bay Lightning player. A good move for both sides, according to insider Ryan Whitney, who summed up the trade perfectly.
Corey Perry won the Stanley Cup with the Anaheim Ducks in his second NHL season. Since then, Perry has been chasing his second championship, but it hasn’t gone as planned.
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Lost five finals in six years
Instead, Corey Perry has played in five Stanley Cup Finals in six years—but lost all of them: 2020 with the Dallas Stars, 2021 with the Montreal Canadiens, 2022 with the Tampa Bay Lightning, and 2024 and 2025 with the Edmonton Oilers. Perry is the only player to have scored in the Stanley Cup Final for five different teams.
For the 2025–26 season, Corey Perry signed with the Los Angeles Kings but was traded to the Lightning on March 6. Tampa Bay is once again a contender to make a deep playoff run, and Perry has already registered two goals in two games since his return.
Ryan Whitney praise Corey Perry
NHL insider Ryan Whitney, speaking on the Spittin’ Chiclets podcast hosted with Paul Bissonnette, perfectly summed up the Corey Perry trade in their latest episode while explaining Perry’s love and hunger for the game.
“Tampa comes into town. They get a win. Who scores but new Tampa Bay Lightning member Corey Perry? Is there a person who loves hockey more than Corey Perry? This f*cking guy is going to play until he cannot get a contract. And I’m talking like the East Coast League. He might play until he’s 55 years old,” Whitney said on the podcast.
Whitney also praised Perry’s willingness to move teams late in his career.
“He’s won a Cup—it was a long time ago. Some guys, at the end, they’re like, ‘I don’t want to move.’ He’s like, ‘No, no, no, I’ll go anywhere.’ And Tampa has a chance to do it this year. I like that move for Tampa—add some nastiness. Over/under spears in the first round? He’s looking at five, five and a half spears, a couple of cross-checks. You know he’s getting two goals in the first round. That’s a guarantee right there,” Whitney said.
You can watch the video below.
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