What’s next for Corey Perry’s NHL career?

After Corey Perry has been away from the game for almost two months when he was suspended and then had his contract terminated by the Chicago Blackhawks, he may be ready to make a return to the league. He was never banned from the league so he didn’t need the consent of the league to return, but after a conversation with the Gary Bettman, the NHL commissioner has confirmed that Perry is eligible to return.

Frank Seravalli and Tyler Yaremchuk talked about what’s next for Perry, which teams may be interested in signing him, and more on Daily Faceoff Live.

Frank Seravalli: Will Corey Perry in the NHL again this season? I have zero doubt that he will. There is a significant amount of interest in Perry, and the reason for that is this guy is a gamer. Look at his totals from just this year alone, a guy that has turned back the clock a little bit, at least before all of this unfolded. He was on track for 46 points this season, and that part has been certainly something to behold.

He did have, of course, the off-ice hiccup, which he acknowledged in his statement was alcohol-fueled and certainly required some perspective and some time to take a step back. But I can tell you this, three NHL GMs had called me the week that he was suspended from the Blackhawks and all of this was hanging in the balance. The question to me was “What happened? What do you know? How bad was it?” and then the next thing was “What do you think the blowback would be like if we signed this guy?”

And so, that’s sort of what teams have been sorting through. I don’t think Corey Perry’s been ready quite yet. He’s gone through that process, but make no mistake, there will certainly be a number of teams interested to try to add this guy. Been to three Stanley Cup Finals in a row on top of the one that he already won recently. He’s going to be in high demand.

Tyler Yaremchuk: And the other thing with Perry. 1) Career earnings are very high. 2) If you remember this $4 million deal he got with the Hawks, $2 million of it was a signing bonus. So he got a decent chunk of money this year, so the assumption would be that Perry wants to go to a Cup contender and probably sign for league minimum?

Frank Seravalli: Yeah, I think that’s probably the assumption to make. I think fit to him will be pretty important. He’s been pretty judicious in terms of choosing where he’s gone in free agency when he’s had the opportunity, and that part will be fascinating to see. What are the options on the table for him as these next days and weeks go by?

To me, the “news” that we had yesterday, which really wasn’t any, was a fascinating trial balloon for some of these teams out there who are monitoring what the reaction will be like if they sign him.

Tyler Yaremchuk: So let’s play a little matchmaker here. We got some comments being like “Confirm Perry to Toronto, come on!” I think it’s understandable why the Leafs would have interest. I think in my own backyard, the Edmonton Oilers have been a team under Ken Holland that’s not shy on giving team’s second chances. Think back to Evander Kane a couple of years ago. Was there a team around the league that you look at and think they make sense?

Frank Seravalli: Yeah, I think you hit on two of them. Toronto, I think is certainly interesting, he makes his summers offseason home in London, so not too far away. Also not too far away from that is Detroit, and we’ve seen them pounce on Patrick Kane this year as a free agent that had some question marks about his health and his game. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Steve Yzerman take a stab.

But, what about some of the other key Cup contenders in the league. Is there another place that would really like to try and bring him in? I don’t know that Colorado necessarily makes sense from a wing perspective. What about the New York Rangers? They’d be a team that I’d be fascinated by just from a wing perspective that they could throw him right into their lineup and he’d be an interesting fit.

It depends on what these teams have in their tolerance for whatever that social commentary might be.

You can watch the full episode here…