Minor Perry grew up playing hockey with the Peterborough Minor Petes AAA organization of the OMHA's Eastern AAA league. In 2001, Perry led his Petes to a victory in the inaugural OHL Cup Bantam AAA championship held in Peterborough. Perry had a stellar year offensively, scoring 73 goals in 67 games.
Junior After a standout minor hockey career, Perry was drafted fifth overall into the
Ontario Hockey League (OHL) by the
London Knights in the 2001 Priority Draft. He immediately produced at a point-per-game pace for the Knights, recording 59 points in 60 games in his rookie season. The following year, his
NHL entry draft year, Perry improved to 78 points and was selected 28th overall in the
2003 NHL entry draft by the
Mighty Ducks of Anaheim. In the
2003–04 season, Perry scored 40 goals and 73 assists for 113 points in just 66 games, becoming the first Knight to reach 100 points in a season since
Jason Allison did so in 1994. During the season, the Ducks were considering trading Perry to the
Edmonton Oilers for
Mike Comrie. The Oilers agreed to acquire Perry for Comrie, though there was one snag in the deal; Edmonton
general manager Kevin Lowe felt that Comrie should return $2.5 million of his salary. Comrie ultimately refused to do so and the trade subsequently fell through. In the OHL playoffs, Perry scored seven more goals, with his offensive prowess earning him a call-up to the Ducks'
American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the
Cincinnati Mighty Ducks, for the remainder of the
2003–04 season. Perry was later named an OHL first-team All-Star after the season. Entering his fourth and final year with the Knights in
2004–05, Perry scored a junior career-high 130 points in 60 games. He went on to post an additional 38 points in the postseason to capture the
J. Ross Robertson Cup as OHL champions, en route to a
Memorial Cup championship. In 18 postseason games, Perry scored 11 goals and handed out 27 assists. The Knights shut-out
Sidney Crosby's
Rimouski Océanic in the final.
Professional (2005–present) Anaheim Ducks (2005–2019) Perry made his debut with the Ducks the following season, in
2005–06. However, he was sent down to the AHL early in the year, along with fellow rookie and future linemate
Ryan Getzlaf. Perry scored his first career goal against the Edmonton Oilers on October 10, 2005 managing to score a point in each of his first four career games. He recorded his first career multi-goal game against the
Los Angeles Kings on January 28, 2006. Perry and Getzlaf combined for 67 points in 36 games with the
Portland Pirates – the Ducks' new AHL affiliate – and were subsequently recalled by the Ducks ahead of the team's run in the
2006 playoffs. Perry finished his rookie season with the Ducks with 25 points (13 goals, 12 assists) in 56 games. In the playoffs, Perry scored no goals but managed three assists as the Ducks were eliminated in the Western Conference finals to the eighth seeded Edmonton Oilers. In
2006–07, his sophomore season, Perry improved to 44 points (17 goals, 27 assists) in all 82 games, playing with Ryan Getzlaf and
Dustin Penner on a combination dubbed the "Kid Line". He went on in the
2007 playoffs to win the
Stanley Cup with Anaheim, scoring 15 points (six goals, nine assists) in 21 games. He assisted on a goal by Ryan Getzlaf in game 1 against the
Ottawa Senators in the
Final while in game 3, he scored a goal on Senators’ goaltender
Ray Emery that helped the Ducks take the lead. After the Senators tied the score, Perry assisted on Getzlaf's goal as the Ducks took the lead again. However, the Senators scored the last three goals of the game and won 5–3. In the final game, Perry scored a goal and had an assist on a goal by
Rob Neidermayer. Anaheim went on to win the next two games, securing its first-ever
Stanley Cup. The following year, in
2007–08, Perry increased his totals to 29 goals, 25 assists and 54 points in 70 games and was named to his first
NHL All-Star Game as an injury replacement (along with
Scott Niedermayer) to join
Chris Pronger and Ryan Getzlaf as four Ducks on the
Western Conference squad. Perry also made Ducks history during the season – on January 4, 2008 in a game against the
Chicago Blackhawks, he scored a goal just 16 seconds into the game, the second fastest goal ever scored by a Duck. Despite the personal successes of the year, the defending Stanley Cup champion Ducks were unable to replicate the previous year's playoff success, falling to the fifth seeded
Dallas Stars in the first round of the
2008 playoffs in six games. Perry played in three games and had two goals and an assist. On July 1, 2008, Perry signed a five-year, $26.625 million contract extension, identical to a contract Ryan Getzlaf had agreed to the previous off-season. The
2008–09 season was a break-out year for Perry. He led the Ducks with 32 goals and finished second on the team in points, with 72. On November 1, 2008, he recorded five points in a game against the
Vancouver Canucks, four of which were assists, a career-high. However, on January 3, 2009, Perry was suspended for four games by the NHL after elbowing
Philadelphia Flyers forward
Claude Giroux during the third period of a game on January 2. Perry finished the regular season scoring four goals in the year's last five games. Continuing his scoring streak, he then contributed eight goals and six assists during the
2009 playoffs that saw the Ducks advance to game 7 of the Western Conference semifinals against the defending Stanley Cup champion
Detroit Red Wings, who ultimately ended the Ducks' season after their game 7 victory. Perry scored the Ducks' second goal of that game. In game 1, Perry scored a goal, but the Ducks lost 3–2, while the Ducks won game 2 as Perry contributed two assists. After recording no points in a Ducks win in game 3, Perry scored two goals and also recorded an assist in game 4, but the Ducks lost 6–3. In game 7, the Ducks lost the game, with Perry scoring a goal and providing an assist. In the
2009–10, Perry posted a 19-game point streak that ultimately ended on December 4, 2009, against the Dallas Stars. He ended the year with a team-leading 76 points (27 goals, 49 assists) and 111 penalty minutes. He also finished second on the club with his 27 goals – trailing only
Bobby Ryan's 35 – and second in assists, with his 49, one short of Ryan Getzlaf's 50. The following year, the
2010–11 season, would be a career year for Perry. Perry led the NHL with 50 goals, winning the
Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy as a result. With 48 assists, he finished the season with 98 points, third-highest in the NHL only behind
Tampa Bay Lightning forward
Martin St. Louis and
Vancouver Canucks forward
Daniel Sedin. Perry was also chosen to the
2011 NHL All-Star Game, where he won the Shootout Elimination Challenge in the Skills Competition. Perry recorded his first career hat-trick in a game against the
Minnesota Wild on December 12; he also recorded two assists in the game, giving him five points. His goals came at even strength, shorthanded and on the power play, making him the second player in Ducks history to score in all three situations, the other being
Paul Kariya. Nearing the end of the season, Perry continued his torrid scoring pace. On March 9, 2011, Perry scored two more goals, his 32nd and 33rd goal of the season against the
New York Rangers on Rangers’ goaltender
Henrik Lundqvist, surpassing his previous career-high, single-season goal tally. Perry scored another goal in a win against the
Colorado Avalanche. In the next game, he scored the only two goals as the Ducks lost to the
Phoenix Coyotes. From March 19 through April 6, Perry recorded a least a point in ten consecutive games, later taking the NHL scoring lead from Tampa Bay Lightning forward
Steven Stamkos when he scored two goals in a 2–1 win against the Chicago Blackhawks on Blackhawks' goaltender
Corey Crawford on March 26. He then recorded his third career hat-trick in a game against the San Jose Sharks on April 6, with his third of the game giving him 50 for the year. After reaching the mark, he became just the third Ducks player to record a 50-goal season, joining
Teemu Selänne and Paul Kariya. Led by Perry's late-season scoring surge, the Ducks finished with 99 points, good for the fourth seed in the West, setting up a series with the fifth seeded
Nashville Predators in the first round of the
2011 playoffs. After being held to no points in game 1, Perry scored the Ducks' first goal on a power play in game 2 against
Pekka Rinne, later assisting on Ryan Getzlaf's goal that gave the Ducks a 3–1 lead. Near the end of the game, Perry then assisted on Bobby Ryan's empty-netter as the Ducks won 5–3. In game 3, Perry recorded another two assists on goals by Teemu Selänne, but the Ducks fell 4–3. In game 4, he set up
Cam Fowler's power play goal early in the first period, and early in the third, Perry scored a short-handed goal to give Anaheim the lead in an eventual 6–3 victory. However, Perry recorded no points in the last two games, both of which the Ducks lost, eliminating them from the playoffs. Perry finished the series with two goals and six assists for eight points in all six games. At the end of the 2010–11 season, Perry won the
Hart Memorial Trophy, prevailing over finalists Daniel Sedin of the Vancouver Canucks and Martin St. Louis of the Tampa Bay Lightning, as the NHL's regular season MVP. He became the first Ducks player to win the Hart Trophy and the first Ducks player to win the Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy since Teemu Selänne in
1998–99. Despite managing to score 37 goals, 23 assists and 60 points, the Ducks missed the
2012 playoffs after finishing fifth in the Pacific Division and 13th in the Western Conference. In the
lock-out-shortened 2012–13 season, Perry and his teammates got off to a much better start than the previous season, going 7–1–1 in their first nine games. Although his teammates were finding success scoring goals, Perry struggled to find the back of the net, scoring only one goal in his first 12 games. However, as the season progressed, Perry began to find his scoring touch, ultimately finishing the season with 15 goals and 21 assists for 36 points. In a game against the Minnesota Wild, Perry delivered a late hit to the head of forward
Jason Zucker. After a review of the hit by NHL executive
Rob Blake, Perry was given a four-game suspension. On March 18, 2013, Perry signed an eight-year, $69 million contract extension with the Ducks, ten days after Ryan Getzlaf was signed to a similar eight-year contract. The
2013 playoffs would prove to be a disappointment for Perry, as he failed to score a single goal in the seven game loss to the Detroit Red Wings, despite firing 24 shots on goal. Perry's 2013–14 season turned out to be one of his best as he had 43 goals, 39 assists and 82 points in 81 games played, helping the Ducks win their second consecutive Pacific Division title and was the runner up for the Rocket Richard Trophy only behind
Washington Capitals forward and captain
Alexander Ovechkin who ended with a league leading 51 goals. Perry was selected to the first All-Star team for the second time in his career. Perry was named to his fourth All-Star Game when he was named to the
2016 NHL All-Star Game, along with teammate
John Gibson. Perry's goal production declined during the
2016–17 and
2017–18 seasons, falling from 34 in
2015–16 to 19 and 17 respectively. On September 26, 2018, Perry was ruled out for five months after undergoing surgery for a torn meniscus and an
medial collateral ligament (MCL) injury. He made his
2018–19 season debut on February 2, 2019 in a 9–3 loss to the
Winnipeg Jets and eventually finished the season contributing with six goals and four assists for 10 points in 31 games as the Ducks failed to qualify for the
playoffs for the first time since
2012. On June 19, 2019, Perry's 14-year tenure with the Ducks ended after he was bought-out from the remaining two years of his eight-year contract to become an unrestricted free agent. The buyout was prompted by his knee surgery and perceived declining utility, though longtime teammate Ryan Getzlaf would later remark that it had also served to free him from expectations, saying "when you have him as a $9 million player as opposed to a million and a half player, there's a lot different expectations. It allows a player to go and be just himself and not be judged on everything else, like his
cap number." On November 13, he played his
1,000th career regular season NHL game against the
Calgary Flames. He became the 340th player in NHL history to hit the milestone. During the
2020 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic on January 1, 2020, Perry was issued a
game misconduct for elbowing
Nashville Predators defenceman
Ryan Ellis at 2:40 of the first period. He was subsequently suspended for five games on January 3, and forfeited $40,322.60. Perry had five goals and 16 assists in 57 games before the
2019–20 regular season was prematurely ended by the onset of the
COVID-19 pandemic. The Stars were on a six-game losing streak when the season ended, but when the NHL later scheduled the
2020 playoffs to take place in late summer in a
bubble environment in
Edmonton, things proved to be different. Playing the Calgary Flames in the first round, Perry was credited with a pivotal role in the team's victory in game 2 after losing the opening game, including an assist on
Jamie Oleksiak's game-winning goal. He went on to contribute to the team's second round win over the
Colorado Avalanche, and provided the screen for
Denis Gurianov's Western Conference final-clinching goal against the
Vegas Golden Knights. The Stars reached the
2020 Stanley Cup Final, playing against the
Tampa Bay Lightning. Perry's most notable feat came in game 5 of the series when he scored the overtime-winner on Lightning goaltender
Andrei Vasilevskiy to stave off elimination and force a sixth game. The Stars were ultimately defeated in game 6 and the Lightning won the series and the Stanley Cup, four games to two. Due to the ongoing pandemic, the NHL temporarily realigned all of its divisions and, to minimize travel, all teams played only within those divisions for the
2020–21 regular season and shortened the regular season from 82 games to 56 games. The Canadiens were part of the all-Canadian
North Division. On January 11, 2021, Perry was waived by the Canadiens for the purpose of putting him on the team's
taxi squad. Despite starting the season on the taxi squad, Perry had a strong showing during the shortened season, finishing ninth in team scoring with 21 points (nine goals, 12 assists) in 49 games. The Canadiens qualified for the fourth berth in the North Division in the
2021 playoffs, entering a first round matchup with the
Toronto Maple Leafs as decided underdogs. However, for the second year in a row, Perry's team would go on a surprisingly deep run in the postseason, ousting the Leafs in seven games before sweeping the
Winnipeg Jets in the second round and then beating the
Vegas Golden Knights in six games in the conference finals. In game 1 against the Leafs, Perry attempted to jump over Leafs captain
John Tavares who had earlier been knocked to the ice, however, Perry's knee clipped Tavares in the head. Tavares suffered a concussion and had to be stretchered off, and did not return for the rest of the series. After the game, Perry felt remorse for his role on the incident: "I don't know what else to do there. I tried to jump. I know Johnny pretty well and just hope he’s OK." On reaching the
2021 Stanley Cup Final, his second consecutive with two different clubs and third overall appearance, Perry reflected that "you come into this League at a young age, and you have success early. I went to the conference final my first year, and then we ended up winning my second year. You think it's going to happen over and over and over again. You just keep the same team together and just ride the wave, but that's not the case." Perry faced the
Tampa Bay Lightning in the Final for the second consecutive year. The Canadiens were ultimately defeated in five games as the Lightning won their second straight Stanley Cup title. Following the loss in the Stanley Cup Final, Perry expressed a desire to re-sign with the Canadiens. However, general manager
Marc Bergevin declined to offer Perry a two-year contract, and he opted to sign elsewhere. Shortly after the beginning of the
2021–22 season, he was named an
alternate captain. After a 17-game scoring drought at the start of the season, he recorded his first goal with the Lightning on November 23, against the
Philadelphia Flyers. On February 23, 2022, Perry scores his 400th NHL goal in a 5–3 win over the
Edmonton Oilers. He would go on to score 19 goals in the season (his most since
2016–17 while still with Anaheim) and also 21 assists for 40 points in all 82 games played. The two time defending Stanley Cup Lightning qualified for the
2022 playoffs as they finished the season as the fifth seed in the Eastern Conference, and for the second consecutive year, Perry faced the Maple Leafs in the first round, again beating them in seven games. The Lightning then swept the
Presidents' Trophy-winning
Florida Panthers in the second round to reach their third straight Eastern Conference final and sixth conference final in eight seasons. Perry had five goals in the first two rounds, tying
Ross Colton for the team lead. His role on the team increased in the course of the playoffs, as injury to
Brayden Point in the first round lead to him taking Point's place on the top power play unit alongside
Victor Hedman,
Ondřej Palát,
Nikita Kucherov and captain
Steven Stamkos. The Lightning went on to beat the
New York Rangers in a six-game series, advancing to the
2022 Stanley Cup Final. Perry became only the second player in the history of the NHL to go to the Final series in three consecutive years with three different teams, after
Marian Hossa. After scoring a goal in game 3, Perry became the first player in NHL history to score a goal in the Stanley Cup Final with four different teams. Perry went on to lose his third consecutive Stanley Cup Final with a third different team, Perry recorded 12 goals and 13 assists for 25 points in 81 games for the Lightning in the
2022–23 season. He also recorded two goals, three assists and five points in all six playoff games in the Lightning’s first round exit in six games to the
Toronto Maple Leafs.
Chicago Blackhawks (2023) On June 29, 2023, Tampa Bay traded the negotiation rights for Perry to the
Chicago Blackhawks in exchange for a
2024 seventh-round pick. He was promptly signed to a one-year, $4 million contract for the
2023–24 season with the Blackhawks on June 30. On November 25, after he had been a healthy scratch for the Blackhawks' last two games, the team announced Perry would take an indefinite leave of absence for personal reasons.
Kyle Davidson, the Blackhawks' general manager, added the decision was made by the team's management. At a press conference on November 28, Davidson said that the Blackhawks had learned of misconduct on Perry's part while the team was preparing to play against the
Columbus Blue Jackets. According to Davidson, when team officials learned this information, they pulled Perry from the lineup and began an internal investigation, which culminated in the decision to cut ties with him.
ESPN's Emily Kaplan reported that Perry was believed to have been involved in an incident with a Blackhawks employee. Perry apologized for the incident and said he was seeking professional help for substance abuse.
Edmonton Oilers (2024–2025) On January 22, 2024, Perry was signed to a one-year contract by the
Edmonton Oilers. On June 2, the Oilers qualified for the
Stanley Cup Final, marking Perry's fourth trip to the Final in five years and fifth trip altogether. The Oilers would ultimately lose the series to the Florida Panthers in seven games. After scoring a goal in game 3 of the Final, he extended his previous NHL record by scoring a goal in the Stanley Cup Final for five different franchises. On July 1, 2024, Perry re-signed with the Oilers to a one-year, $1.4 million contract. The Oilers returned to the
Stanley Cup Final for the second year in a row on May 29, 2025, marking Perry's fifth Stanley Cup Final appearance in six years and sixth overall, which he and the Oilers again lost to the Panthers, this time in six games. Perry ended the
2025 playoffs with 10 goals and four assists for 14 points in all 22 games.
Los Angeles Kings (2025–2026) On July 1, 2025, as a free agent from the Oilers, Perry signed a one-year, $3.5 million contract with the
Los Angeles Kings.
Return to Tampa Bay (2026–present) On March 6, 2026, at the trade deadline, the Lightning re-acquired Perry from the Kings in exchange for a second round draft pick. ==International play==