Corey Perry was traded to the Tampa Bay Lightning by the Los Angeles Kings on Friday for a second-round pick in the 2028 NHL Draft.
The 40-year-old forward, who previously played for the Lightning from 2021-23, has 28 points (11 goals, 17 assists) in 50 games for the Kings this season.
Perry signed a one-year, $2 million contract with the Kings on July 1, and can become an unrestricted free agent after the season.
"It was a lot of back and forth, a lot of discussion with family, and eventually we made the decision," he said Saturday. "Happy to be here. Exciting.
Perry will play when the Lightning visit the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday (7 p.m. ET; CBC, SNO, NHLN, The Spot).
"Little crazy. But excited. Excited to see where this can go. Landed at 4 am. There was a 4 hour delay."
The Lightning have lost four straight following a stretch where they went 20-1-1.
"At the end of the day, we have a chance to win a Stanley Cup here. That's the goal," Perry said. "They have a pretty good team. When you win 20 of 22 or whatever it was, you have a pretty good team. I'm just here to help any way I can. It's exciting."
He had 30 points (19 goals, 11 assists) in 81 regular-season games for the Edmonton Oilers last season and 14 points (10 goals, four assists) in 22 Stanley Cup Playoff games. Perry helped the Oilers reach the Stanley Cup Final the past two seasons and has been to the Cup Final five of the past six seasons, losing each, including with Tampa Bay in 2022.
"There were a lot of guys who I played with in that room who reached out right away," Perry said. "The phone blew up … It was a long day yesterday with the delay, late flight, getting in late. Exciting to be here though."
NHL.com staff writer Mike Zeisberger contributed to this report
