Perry pumped for Southern California return after signing with Kings

BRAMPTON, Ontario -- Corey Perry is going home.

At least within about 30 miles of it, that is.

That’s roughly the distance between Honda Center in Anaheim, where his NHL career started two decades ago, and Crypto.com Arena in downtown Los Angeles, where he’ll begin the next phase of his hockey journey, this one with the Los Angeles Kings, this season at age 40.

“It’s another new chapter, and I’m excited,” the forward told NHL.com this week at the 11th annual Smilezone Celebrity Golf Tournament at Lionhead Golf Club. “And it’s an area that I know very well.”

He should, given that he spent the first 14 years of his NHL career, starting with the 2005-06 season, with the Anaheim Ducks franchise (then called the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim), accruing 776 points (372 goals, 404 assists) in 998 games for the organization that picked him in the first round (No. 28) of the 2003 NHL Draft. It was a memorable run that saw Perry and fellow forward Ryan Getzlaf become the faces of the franchise en route to helping the Ducks win the Stanley Cup in 2007, then featured him receiving the Hart Trophy as the NHL’s most valuable player four years later.

Leaving the Ducks six years ago kicked off a frenzied period for Perry that included stints with the Dallas Stars (2019-20 season), Montreal Canadiens (2020-21), Tampa Bay Lightning (two seasons, from 2021-23), Chicago Blackhawks (first part of 2023-24) and Edmonton Oilers (from Jan. 22, 2024, through 2024-25). Now, he’s back in Southern California after signing a one-year, $2 million contract with the Kings on July 1.

“Playing in California, playing in Anaheim for 14 years, you kind of call that home,” Perry said. “It was a big part of my career, my life, and it always will be.

“Going back to California, we know it’s not the exact same place, but it’s still exciting to go back to Southern California. We’re looking forward to it.”

He said the weirdest feeling associated with the move will come when the Kings make their first visit of the 2025-26 season to Honda Center to face the Ducks on Nov. 28.

“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.”

In his enthusiasm for what lies ahead, Perry took time out to reflect on his days in Edmonton, where he helped the Oilers make back-to-back Stanley Cup Final appearances only to lose to the Florida Panthers on both occasions.

Perry quickly became a favorite with both his Oilers teammates and a rabid Edmonton fan base that appreciated the sandpaper in his game. All the while, his 7-year-old son, Griffin, was enjoying playing in one of the top minor hockey systems in North America.

That, he said, is among the reasons why saying goodbye to the Alberta capital is hard.

“It was sad and tough to leave Edmonton,” Perry said. “We had a good things going there, especially with the family, my teammates, my little guy’s hockey, his hockey team, his hockey buddies.

“That’s hard to leave, sure, but we’re looking forward to making some new great memories in Los Angeles.”

Last season, Perry showed the hockey world he has plenty left in the tank, especially in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, when he scored 10 goals in 22 games. It proved to be more than enough to impress former Oilers general manager Ken Holland, who is now in the same role with the Kings.

“Come free agency July 1, it came about pretty quick,” Perry said. “Kenny signed me in Edmonton, so he reached out immediately.

“We played the Kings in the first round the past two years when I was in Edmonton. And while we won both of those series, LA was a great hockey team. Those series could have gone either way. We found a way to beat them in the end, but you could see what they have. And the moves Kenny has subsequently made and the players he’s brought in has helped the team -- good acquisitions, good depth.”

Perry was among a flurry of free agent signings made by the Kings earlier this month, additions that also included forward Joel Armia, defensemen Cody Ceci and Brian Dumoulin, and goaltender Anton Forsberg.

Will those moves be enough to help Perry reach the Stanley Cup Final again, this time with the Kings? He has, after all, been there five times in the past six seasons, each one ending in defeat.

“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.

“I welcome the new challenge. It’s going to be fun.”