Corey Perry signed late in the offseason with the Montreal Canadiens. It was a great pick up by the organization and he’s come to pay dividends, both as a non-regular roster member during the regular season, and as a player who steps up in come crunch time during the postseason. But, he almost didn’t make it to the playoffs as part of the Canadiens roster.
According to Pierre LeBrun of the Athletic (subscription required), Perry was almost claimed twice by other teams when he was put on waivers by the Canadiens organization during the 2020-21 season. The taxi squad and a great deal of salary cap gymnastics were a thing for every team, for the Canadiens, it was almost costly.
Related: Corey Perry: The Player the Maple Leafs Let Get Away
As the season rolled along and Perry started to understand the ins and outs of how the taxi squad and waivers worked, it became clear there was a chance another team might pick him up. That’s not what he wanted. Despite not always playing, Perry wasn’t looking for a different or better opportunity. He told his agent to send out the message that if he were to hit the waiver wire, teams should be discouraged from putting in a claim.
Perry’s agent Pat Morris told LeBrun: “So I did call three teams that looked like they would have the need for him, to ask them not to pick him up on waivers.” He added, “It wasn’t a threat to retire or anything, but basically ‘can you adhere to who Corey Perry is. If your thought is to pick him up on waivers, please don’t.’”
Two teams were actually interested. Morris noted that both teams had intended to put a claim in, but once the agent reached out, they chose to respect Perry’s wishes. He said, “‘We were going to put in a claim until this call. We’ll respect his career.’”
A Lot Like the Jason Spezza Situation
This isn’t that unlike what we’d heard about Jason Spezza in Toronto. The only difference was, Spezza told his agent to tell teams he’d simply retire if he was claimed: It was Toronto or bust.
Does this mean Perry is likely to re-sign again in the offseason with the Canadiens? It will be interesting to see as he’ll be a sought after player based on how things went this season and how he’s been an ideal addition for a Habs team that has gone a lot farther this season than many people figured they would.
Perry, 36, is still impactful. He’s posted nine goals and 12 assists in mostly bottom-six duty in 49 games, but added eight points (3-5) in 15 postseason games.
Next: Why Matthew Tkachuk Might Want Out of Calgary [Theory]
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