Yesterday afternoon news broke that Corey Perry had taken time to schedule a meeting with NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman. Perry hoped to discuss his eligibility to return to the NHL this season with the Commissioner. After a meeting it was revealed that Perry had never actually been marked 'ineligible' and was free to sign with whatever team he wanted.
After having his contract terminated Perry became an unrestricted free agent and is now free to sign anywhere he'd like. Rumors immediately began to circulate of which teams could have potential interest and now less than 24 hours after the announcement it appears that Corey Perry could be heading home to join the Toronto Maple Leafs.
According to former NHLer and Maple Leaf, Carlo Colaiacovo, there is mutual interest between both Perry and the Leafs on Perry joining his childhood team.
During the NHL's Bubble season, Perry had reached out to the Leafs about joining the team, but then General Manager Kyle Dubas made the decision to sign Joe Thornton and Wayne Simmonds instead. Now this could be a chance for the Maple Leafs to write their previous wrongs and add Perry and his years of leadership to their roster.
Perry was born in Peterborough, Ontario just hours away from Toronto and this potential deal could mark a homecoming of sorts for Perry. In 1273 career games Perry has 421 career goals and 471 career assists. The former Hart Trophy Winner isn't the same player as he used to be, but he has managed to adapt his came to keep himself extremely effective in a bottom line role.
