Corey Perry away from Chicago's NHL team for personal reasons, player's agent says
Veteran forward, who signed 1-year deal in summer, hasn't played since last weekend
Corey Perry will be away from Chicago's NHL team for the foreseeable future, general manager Kyle Davidson said Saturday.
The 38-year-old Perry, from Peterborough, Ont., hasn't played since he skated for almost 15 minutes during a 3-2 loss to Buffalo last Sunday. He was a healthy scratch for Wednesday night's 7-3 loss at Columbus and Friday's 4-3 victory over Toronto.
"It's been a team decision so far to hold him out, and that's about all I'm able to provide," Davidson said.
Perry was acquired from Tampa Bay in a June trade, then agreed to a one-year contract worth $4 million US.
The former junior star with the Ontario Hockey League's London Knights has four goals and nine points in 16 games. Asked about the possibility of a trade, Davidson responded: "To start ruling anything out I think is irresponsible, so I'm just going to not comment on any possible outcome of this."
In a statement provided to Hockey Night in Canada, Pat Morris, Perry's agent, said the forward has stepped away from the team to attend to personal matters. Morris said Perry and his family are looking for privacy.
Perry's absence comes with Chicago dealing with a series of injuries among forwards. Taylor Hall is scheduled for right knee surgery on Monday in Minnesota.
"Obviously disappointed for Taylor. I think he came in and played well when he was in the lineup," Davidson said, "but unfortunately, he was banged up a couple times. Time to get him back to full health. We look forward to having him return next year, 100 per cent and ready to go."
