Well, something must have changed in the past 24 hours. Fresh on the heels of reports that Corey Perry had indicated he wanted to stay with the LA Kings — and even possibly sign a contract extension — the veteran forward has been traded to Tampa Bay for a 2028 second-round draft pick.
2nd rounder in return
— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) March 6, 2026
After signing a one-year free agent contract with the Kings this past summer, Perry missed the beginning of training camp and the regular season due to a weird injury suffered during training.
He eventually made his debut and was somewhat of an offensive catalyst for his first month with the club.
A longtime member of the club’s SoCal rival in Anaheim, Perry’s time in LA (for now) finishes up as 28 points (11G, 17A) in 50 games played for the Kings. His last start, coming Thursday night against the Islanders, earned him his final in-season performance bonus. More on that down below.
With LAK retaining 50%, that retention % also applies for performance bonuses earned after the trade.
So if Perry earns some or all of his $500K of his playoff bonuses, they would be split between Tampa and LA
— PuckPedia (@PuckPedia) March 6, 2026
Could Perry possibly return to LA in the offseason? There was interest from both sides very recently. Moving him now and resigning him again over the summer could still be on the table. If so, getting a draft pick in the process would be a pretty shrewd move.
Word is, LA Kings are looking to sign Corey Perry to an extension.
Currently on a 1-year incentive heavy deal, he's already earned $1.5M of his $2M bonus potential. Remaining $500k comes with round wins in the playoffs.
That's on top of his $1M signing bonus + $1M salary.
— The Mayor | Team MM (@mayorNHL) March 5, 2026
Lead photo by Megan Sanders
MORE LA KINGS NEWS:
Perry Injury Could Cost Him $250k (or More), Provides No LTIR Relief for Kings
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i really like the info you provide
Trading Perry now sounds like Kings brass has decided to wave the white flag officially for this season ! What else could it actually mean ??? Perry has been great this year for Kings and exactly the kind of player you need in the playoffs…. a proven winner who does the dirty work.
I just can’t wait to hear Robataille try to spin this season as “well, we were very close”. Robataille needs to go !!!!!!! We need new leadership across the board, coaching, scouting as well ! So sick of this team. Enjoy the rest of your meaningless games Kopitar. What a way to go out 🙁
One word for this organization…… SAD !!!!
Well if they use the recent draft picks to make a deal, then O.K. 3 2nd round picks and a couple of minor leaguers with potential could be used for Matthews? Who knows, but as it stands the Kings need to add if they want to be in the playoffs and do something. Could be they will wheel and deal in the summer too.
Jon Cooper likes Perry. I don’t. He is like a sore thumb. We could have done much better with a second round draft pick. JBB let us down big time this year.