Former Leafs forward pushing for the team to sign Corey Perry
With Corey Perry's contract being terminated by the Chicago Blackhawks, a very important question is being asked amongst several different fan bases in regards to his availability and whether or not you would want him on your team. The Blackhawks didn't divulge many details surrounding Perry's "unacceptable conduct" but Kyle Davidson was rather frank when he dispelled the nasty rumour that had been circulating over the last couple of days. Daily Faceoff's Frank Seravalli then reported what sources had been telling him, regarding Perry's behaviour at an event with players, staff and stakeholders present, suggesting that alcohol played a role in whatever had occurred.
As for the Maple Leafs, would they consider signing Perry now that he is a UFA, when ready to sign with a new club? He's that type of player you hate to play against but love to have on your team and all of his intangibles are exactly what the Maple Leafs are missing and are always looking to acquire at the trade deadline.
Nick Alberga and Jay Rosehill discussed this possibility on Wednesday's edition of Leafs Morning Take and Rosehill made several interesting remarks:
"I would have to agree [about signing Perry], man, especially if you're going to scoop him up for league minimum. His career just took a wild turn. It's not my business what he does with people or conduct, as long as it's not illegal, you know, whether he cheats on his wife or does this, I'm talking about hockey here. That's no good, of course, it's frowned upon but if it wasn't the Chicago Blackhawks handling that situation, I don't think he'd be off the team right now, I'd think it would be a sit down."
Rosehill adds that because the Blackhawks have been under the limelight for the wrong reasons over the past few seasons, they almost had no choice but to let Perry go, something he believes every other team would not have done:
"From what I can tell, he fooled around with a staff member and after what the Chicago Blackhawks went through with that debacle of a Kyle Beach story, they're not taking any chances. They took a lot of heat for that and they made sure they got it right this time. They covered their ass is what happened and I believe if that happened with any other organization it would be a private sit-down conversation."
As for why he believes Perry would a perfect mid-season acquisition, Rosehill made several good points:
"I would interested in Corey Perry. He brings a lot to the table. We're talking hockey here. He can help the Toronto Maple Leafs, you can get him for cheap, he has a ton of experience, and he plays a way that all these guys need to learn and I would be super interested in him, but like you said, I doubt that is going to happen for the off-ice reasons."
Alberga mentioned how maybe they could get rid of Ryan Reaves to make room on the roster for Perry - if they decided to go down that route - but if Perry signs for league minimum, it wouldn't be too hard to make things work:
"You can pull him (Ryan Reaves) in and out like we talked about, that's an option for sure. Especially when you're getting him for so cheap, I think someone's going to sign him, but I don't think he's going to have 3 million dollar offers coming to him by any stretch of the imagination. I think you could scoop him for close to league minimum. He's going to wanna repair his image and repair the way people look and think about him now after this scandal if you wanna call it that."
Obviously, Ryan Reaves has been very forward about his dislike for Perry. Would the Leafs put him in a position like that? Reaves is a pro, so I'm sure he'd make it work, but I have a hard time believing they'd bring him in and risk any sort of locker room rifts forming.
Does Alberga believe the Maple Leafs will go against the grain and make the "scandalous" move?
"For the same reason that we said, I think people are gonna wanna maybe not jump on board optic-wise, but whoever decides to sign him, this storyline is going to go away and someone's gonna be left with Corey Perry for cheap."
| POLL | ||
30 NOVEMBRE | 869 ANSWERS Former Leafs forward pushing for the team to sign Corey Perry Should the Leafs sign Corey Perry? | ||
| No | 296 | 34.1 % |
| Yes | 413 | 47.5 % |
| Only if it's league minimum | 160 | 18.4 % |
| List of polls | ||
