When it comes to Corey Perry, two images are probably burned into the brains of Chicago Blackhawks fans.
There’s the scene in March 2010 when Perry, then with the Anaheim Ducks, blasted Hawks defenseman Brent Sopel with a blindside crosscheck.
Then there’s November 2014, when Perry, still a Duck, crosschecked Marián Hossa in the ribs from behind, leaving Hossa crumpled on the ice.
Get in line, Hawks fans. There’s probably not a fan base in the NHL that hasn’t debated where the 18-year veteran lands on the line between aggressive and dirty.
Is he a cheap-shot artist, heel, agitator or enforcer?
Sure.
What’s for certain is he’s now a Blackhawk.
Perry, 38, admitted Friday he was amused by some Hawks fans’ reactions when the team traded a 2024 seventh-round pick to the Tampa Bay Lightning for his signing rights during last week’s NHL draft.
“But everywhere I’ve gone the last few years, it’s been that way,” Perry told reporters at Fifth Third Arena. “There have been some heated moments, myself against this team, but I’m happy to be on this side, excited to see where this season goes.”
As for Hossa, now an unofficial adviser with the Hawks, “We’ll be good,” Perry said.
“I could probably go down the list of different things that have happened,” he added. “The other new guy coming in, (former Boston Bruin) Nick Foligno and myself, we had something when he was in Toronto and I was in Montreal.”
They fought — almost by gentlemanly agreement — during a May 2021 playoff game after a hit by the Canadiens’ Ben Chiarot sent John Tavares sprawling and Perry’s knee accidentally collided with Tavares’ head, leading to Tavares being stretchered off.
“That happens everywhere you go,” Perry said. “You put it behind you, you move on and you’re teammates now.”
In fact, Foligno is one of Perry’s strongest advocates.
“I’m excited to work with him,” Foligno said. “Usually the guys you hate to play against are the ones you love to play with. … When someone tells you they hate playing against you, that’s a compliment in our league. He’s one of those guys.”
Perry agreed: “I relish that, I like it. Yeah, it’s probably a great compliment to have: You’re hated by the opposition, in opposing rinks, and you’re loved at home.”
There’s no shortage of Corey Perry “hate” videos, such as his top “jerk” moments — parts one and two.
Taylor Hall, another import from the Bruins, said Perry’s peers see past the antics.
“He can be a thorn in your side if you’re playing against him, but he’s been so good for so long,” Hall said. “And you saw last year in (the Lightning’s) playoff series versus Toronto, he was one of their best players still at 37 years old.
“So whether Blackhawks fans have ill memories or not, he’ll work. You’ll see him on the ice and when you watch him play for your team, you’ll be a big fan of his. I know he’s got a lot of respect from guys around the league.”
Hall added that Perry’s arrival was a selling point for the Hawks.
“I wasn’t expecting to get traded (from the Bruins),” he said, “but when you hear Chicago and everything they’ve accomplished, getting Connor (Bedard) and bringing Nick in and talking about getting Corey Perry, it softens the blow and gets you ready for what’s to come. That’s the stage I’m at now.”
Perry isn’t the 30- to 50-goal scorer of his peak years in the 2010s, but he did put up 12 goals and 13 assists in 81 games last season and 19 goals and 21 assists in 2021-22 with the Lightning.
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When Hawks general manager Kyle Davidson brought up Perry’s name as a target to coach Luke Richardson before the draft, Richardson thought “he’d be a great fit for us right now.”
Perry joined the Canadiens in 2020-21 when Richardson was an assistant coach.
“Coaches do their thing and try to help players and put a game plan in place,” Richardson said, “but guys like (Perry) really get involved. Every day when you see them in practice, on the bench, they’re alert. That’s why every team wanted him the last few years, (teams) that had a chance to win.
“He’s a winner. He’s going to help guys on our team, just like he did guys in Montreal like Cole Caufield and Nick Suzuki. He has a big footprint on making them what they are today.”
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Perry can provide guidance and protection for a young player such as Bedard. The No. 1 draft pick will need backup against bigger skaters, and the 6-foot-3, 208-pound Perry is more than willing to oblige.
“This league is not easy, and coming in at 18 years old, he’s going to have things that he hasn’t seen before — playing against men and all these different things,” Perry said. “That’s why you have to do what you have to do, and that’s what has kept me in the league.”
As far as imparting any pearls of wisdom to Bedard, Perry said, “We’ll see where that goes.”
“I have to meet him first and we’ll go from there,” Perry said. “It’s not so much for me on the ice, it’s away from the rink. It’s in the dressing room, just being a good teammate and trying to help him with day-to-day stuff … make sure he knows what to do, where to go, be on time, all those kinds of things. And then the on-ice stuff, it’ll take over as the season goes.”
Upon reflection on the 2005-06 season — when he and Ryan Getzlaf broke into the league in Anaheim under the tutelage of Teemu Selänne and the Niedermayer brothers — Perry divined more insight he’ll strive to share with Bedard and other young Hawks.
“This game goes by fast,” Perry said. “I still remember walking into that dressing room and they said, ‘Don’t take it for granted. Make sure you remember everything and soak it all in because it goes by fast.’
“I didn’t really understand what they were talking about, but you really do — you really take it in and you see what they’re talking about. That’s something I’ll pass on to these young guys.”