{"id":517248,"date":"2026-03-11T15:09:08","date_gmt":"2026-03-11T15:09:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/517248\/"},"modified":"2026-03-11T15:09:08","modified_gmt":"2026-03-11T15:09:08","slug":"why-do-cup-contenders-keep-going-after-one-of-nhls-slowest-oldest-players-instant-culture","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/517248\/","title":{"rendered":"Why do Cup contenders keep going after one of NHL\u2019s slowest, oldest players? \u2018Instant culture\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

Julien BriseBois is known for the laser focus and discipline in his decision-making as general manager of the Tampa Bay Lightning, and it\u2019s a large part of what helps the Lightning remain a perennial contender.<\/p>\n

Even BriseBois has his limits, though, and he had to break one of his own fundamental unwritten rules this past week at the NHL trade deadline.<\/p>\n

BriseBois typically likes to avoid placing all of his eggs in one basket by acquiring players with term remaining on their deals. But on Friday, he handed the Los Angeles Kings a second-round pick for a player on an expiring contract. Why?<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s only one Corey Perry,\u201d he told reporters.<\/p>\n

And because there\u2019s only one Perry, there always seems to be a top NHL team with a need for the 40-year-old winger. Perry has gone from the Dallas Stars to the Montreal Canadiens to the Lightning to the Chicago Blackhawks to the Edmonton Oilers and now back to the Lightning while appearing in five of the past six Stanley Cup Finals.<\/p>\n

He\u2019s got a real shot to extend that streak after landing back with a Lightning team that\u2019s led the way in the Atlantic Division for most of the season.<\/p>\n

On the surface, Perry is an unlikely candidate to be in that kind of demand. He\u2019s the second-oldest skater in the entire league, trailing only 41-year-old Brent Burns of the Colorado Avalanche, and he\u2019s also one of the slowest. Among the areas where the NHL\u2019s Edge data lists him below the 50th percentile are maximum skating speed, skating distance and speed bursts above 18, 20 and 22 miles per hour.<\/p>\n

Still, amid those considerable headwinds, Perry finds a way to get the job done. He\u2019s a difference-maker.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think it\u2019s a coincidence that he\u2019s been to five Finals in six years,\u201d Lightning coach Jon Cooper said. \u201cThat doesn\u2019t just happen. He\u2019s a catalyst for a lot of runs he\u2019s been on. I think you see an opportunity to bring him back, (you do it). He transcends time.\u201d<\/p>\n

What does that look like behind the scenes?<\/p>\n

According to a front-office member from one of Perry\u2019s recent stops, he\u2019s \u201cinstant culture.\u201d A player who holds teammates accountable and improves a team\u2019s circumstances both in the dressing room and on the bench. An uber competitor who is \u201cthe most mentally tough human in the league.\u201d<\/p>\n

Plus, Perry remains incredibly effective around the opponent\u2019s net, consistently working his way to the hardest areas of the ice with an ability to finish on chances once he gets there. He scored in back-to-back games following Friday\u2019s trade back to Tampa Bay, bringing his season total to 13 goals in 52 games.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s a guy you want on your team,\u201d Lightning forward Brandon Hagel said. \u201cThat\u2019s a guy that\u2019s going to push everyone to that next level. And that\u2019s a guy you want to win for. Really, really happy that was the guy that we went with.\u201d<\/p>\n

Local grandfather Corey Perry still has it. pic.twitter.com\/Rjvs8YP7cg<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 dom \ud83d\udcc8 (@domluszczyszyn) March 6, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

Perry found himself with a decision to make when the Lightning expressed interest in him last week. BriseBois pivoted in his direction after considering other targets who would have come with much higher acquisition costs and more perceived risk. The familiarity from his 2021-2023 stint with the Lightning was a plus on both sides of the ledger.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe has this ability to bring guys into the fight,\u201d BriseBois said. \u201cHe knows when and how to raise the temperature on the ice. He knows when to calm things down, when that\u2019s what\u2019s needed, and that\u2019s priceless if you want to go on a long playoff run.\u201d<\/p>\n

Perry waived his no-trade clause to facilitate the deal after giving some consideration to remaining in Los Angeles and perhaps even signing an extension with the Kings. His wife Blakeny and 8-year-old son Griffin stayed back in California while he quickly packed up to join the Lightning for a weekend back-to-back against the host Toronto Maple Leafs and Buffalo Sabres.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe were kind of going back and forth on whether to stay, whether to leave,\u201d Perry said. \u201cWe had a bunch of discussions, my wife and I, and then obviously with my little guy \u2014 he\u2019s got his school, he\u2019s got baseball, hockey, lacrosse. He\u2019s got all kinds of stuff going on. It\u2019s tough leaving them, but at the end of the day, you have a chance to win a Stanley Cup. That\u2019s what the end goal is.\u201d<\/p>\n

You can\u2019t blame him for allowing that to become an all-encompassing pursuit by this point.<\/p>\n

Perry won a Stanley Cup with the Anaheim Ducks in 2007, his second NHL season, before improbably ending up on the losing end of the championship series in 2020, 2021, 2022, 2024 and 2025.<\/p>\n

The first two of those defeats came against Tampa Bay in COVID-19-era Cups \u2014 while playing for the Stars and Canadiens, respectively \u2014 before he joined the Lightning in free agency just in time for them to fall short of a threepeat by losing to Colorado. In the past two years, Perry\u2019s Oilers fell to the Florida Panthers in consecutive Finals.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you lose five of the last six, there\u2019s some hunger still in there,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Perry now sits fourth all-time in NHL history with 237 career playoff games on his resume \u2014 behind only Chris Chelios (266), Nicklas Lidstr\u00f6m (263) and Patrick Roy (247). He\u2019s fond of saying that he plans on playing hockey professionally until they cut his skates off.<\/p>\n

Beyond his strong leadership qualities and ability to produce offense from the bottom six, what\u2019s allowed Perry to remain such an attractive commodity into his 21st season is a love for the game that\u2019s never waned or wavered.<\/p>\n

For example, the Lightning gave Perry the option to sit out Saturday\u2019s visit to Scotiabank Arena after travel delays kept him from arriving at the team hotel in Toronto until 6 a.m., only to have him insist on dressing and then score in the first period of a 5-2 win over the Leafs.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s just built the right way,\u201d Cooper said.<\/p>\n

For yet another team with Stanley Cup aspirations, he\u2019s viewed as an X-factor capable of helping a really good roster blossom into a great one this spring.<\/p>\n

\u201c(With) Corey, I think at the end of the day, it\u2019s passion \u2014 passion for the game,\u201d BriseBois said. \u201cI don\u2019t know that any player is as passionate as Corey Perry about hockey. He loves the game. He loves to compete. He loves to muck it up. He loves the challenge of doing the hard things and the rewards that come with that.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo I would say it\u2019s not so much a skill set as a mindset. That\u2019s what separates him from the other players. That\u2019s why he\u2019s still playing at a really high level at this age.\u201d<\/p>\n