2:40 p.m.: Perry has indeed been activated with Kopitar landing on IR, the team announced.
12:25 p.m.: The Kings will have offseason pickup Corey Perry in the lineup tonight for the first time this season, the team’s Zach Dooley relays. He began the year on injured reserve and will need to be activated. Los Angeles does not have an open roster spot and will need to make a corresponding transaction, which will likely be an IR placement for Anže Kopitar, who’s out week-to-week with a foot injury.
Perry, 40, moved to his sixth team in the last seven years when he inked a one-year, $2MM deal with the Kings on July 1. He was one of many of general manager Ken Holland’s pickups in his first offseason in L.A., alongside Joel Armia, Cody Ceci, Brian Dumoulin, and Anton Forsberg. The four-time All-Star is coming off a 19-goal, 30-point showing with the Oilers, his best offensive showing in three years, but sustained a knee injury during an informal skate shortly before training camp that required surgery. He was given a six-to-eight-week return timeline, putting him back in the lineup significantly ahead of schedule.
It’s unclear who’s coming out of the lineup to make way. It could be center Samuel Helenius. He’s the only one of the 12 forwards who played L.A.’s last game that hasn’t appeared in every contest so far this year. Doing so would likely mean shifting Alex Turcotte to the middle to open a spot for Perry on the wing. Even considering his limited ice time in recent years (he averaged 11:56 per game for Edmonton in 2024-25), it would make sense for him to assume fourth-line duties out of the gate as he gets back into the swing of things ahead of schedule and without a conditioning stint.
It’s worth noting Perry is still eligible for all of his performance bonuses – he could double his $2MM base salary by playing at least 50 games and if the Kings make the Stanley Cup Final. Just reaching the 50 GP mark, still well within reach, would get him $1.5MM.