Kristen Shilton
Multiple Authors
Corey Perry is returning to Tampa Bay.
The LA Kings shipped their veteran forward to the Lightning on Friday in exchange for a 2028 second-round draft selection.
Perry has 11 goals and 28 points in those 50 games this year.
He’ll be reunited now with his former Lightning teammates from a stint with the club from 2021-23. Tampa reached the Stanley Cup Final in both those seasons, recording consecutive losses. Perry won a Cup in 2007 with the Anaheim Ducks and has appeared in five of the last six Cup Finals and lost them all, including back-to-back with Edmonton in 2024 and 2025.
Perry holds the record for reaching the Cup Final with five different clubs in his career — Anaheim, Dallas, Montreal, Tampa and Edmonton.
What makes Perry valuable in the postseason is not only his experience and skill but his peskiness and ability to disrupt the opposition. The Lightning have persevered through several key injuries this season to put themselves in a position to contend again this year and Perry will add needed depth their forward group.
ESPN’s Emily Kaplan reported Perry — who is on a one-year, $2 million deal laden with performance bonuses — just received a $250,000 bonus for appearing in 50 games this season, and the Lightning will pay him an additional $125,000 for 1st round playoff win, $250,000 for second round, and $125,000 for a Conference Final win.
Los Angeles has struggled this season despite making a blockbuster trade last month for winger Artemi Panarin. They lost forward Kevin Fiala to a broken leg suffered at the Olympics.
The Kings recently fired head coach Jim Hiller and sit three points out of a Western Conference wild card spot.
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