The Curse of Corey Perry (2024).

The National Hockey League is one of the most competitive sports leagues anywhere on the globe and never is that more true than during the Stanley Cup playoffs. Considered to be one of the most grueling tournaments in all of sports, many great players never manage to win a championship and simply reaching the Stanley Cup Final can be considered an impressive feat.

That is why it has been nothing short of incredible to see NHL veteran Corey Perry make his way to the Stanley Cup Final for the 4th time in just 5 years, each time as a member of a different organization. While it is an amazing accomplishment, it is also the kind of accomplishment that has left some superstitious observers wondering if Perry might be carrying some kind of curse.

Perry began a run of 3 consecutive Cup Finals as a member of the Dallas Stars inside of the NHL's tightly sealed playoff bubble at the height of the pandemic. Perry played well for the Stars, especially considering he had cost the Stars just $1.5 million on a 1 year deal, and even had a big moment in the Stanley Cup Final when he won Game 5 for the Stars in overtime.

Unfortunately Perry and the Stars would eventually lose to the Tampa Bay Lightning, with the Lightning taking the series 4 - 2.

Getting a contract the following season proved to be more difficult for Perry who would eventually sign a league minimum contract with the Montreal Canadiens. Unexpectedly, Perry would once again make a run all the way to the Stanley Cup Final with what was an underdog Canadiens team the entire way through.

Perry would once again play well in the playoffs, even scoring during the Final, but yet again he tasted defeat at the hands of the Tampa Bay Lightning, this time with the Lightning taking the series 4 - 1.

The old saying goes if you can't beat them, join them, and that was exactly what Perry would do the following season. Now as a member of the Tampa Bay Lightning, Perry found himself in his third consecutive Stanley Cup Final appearance this time taking on the Colorado Avalanche.

Once again Perry would prove to be a factor in the series, scoring a big goal in Game 3, but he would once again fall short of his ultimate goal with the Avalanche eventually claiming the Stanley Cup in 6 games.

It was right around this time that even the most ardent skeptics had to scratch their heads and genuinely ask themselves 'Is Corey Perry really cursed?'

Perry would remain with the Lightning for one more season but wouldn't get anywhere close to the Final the following year, losing in the first round to the Toronto Maple Leafs.

To make matters worse it seemed as though Perry's run of Stanley Cup Final appearances had ended altogether after Perry signed on with a Chicago Blackhawks team that wasn't expected to come anywhere close to making the playoffs. It seems however that fate had different plans for the veteran NHL forward.

A highly publicized split with the Blackhawks would see him land on the Edmonton Oilers roster and, despite a mid-season collapse, the Oilers have now marched their way all the way to the Stanley Cup Final and to a Game 7 against the Florida Panthers.

The question now of course is, will the Curse of Corey Perry once again rear its ugly head and deny Perry his most coveted prize for the 4th time in just 5 short years or will he finally get the curse that has been haunting him for half a decade off his back?