Throughout his 17-year NHL career, Corey Perry has made his fair share of enemies for his questionable, and sometimes over the line type of play, and it appears he may have recently made himself another foe.
The 37-year-old, who has rightfully received the nickname “Worm”, was a thorn in the backside of the Colorado Avalanche throughout all six games of the Stanley Cup Final just over a month ago. While the Avs did get the last laugh as they put an end to the Lightning’s two-time Cup winning streak, it is clear that Perry still irked them in the process. Perhaps the most irritated player of all was Valeri Nichushkin. Recently speaking with a Russian outlet, he wasn’t shy to state how he feels about the Bolts forward.
“No, I don’t like his behaviour,” Nichushkin said about Perry. “You can yell at each other, even punch each other in the face if you want to. But when a person purposely falls onto people’s feet, or their knees to injure and incapacitate them, it’s not nice. What good can come from people trying to take away your healthy by acting out of line?”
This isn’t the first time we have heard an opposing player call out Perry, and in all likelihood, won’t be the last. Despite getting up there in age, he remains a very good and versatile player. The 2021-22 season was a fantastic one for him, as he had 19 goals and 40 points in 82 games, marking his highest point total since the 2017-18 season. He continued his solid play into the postseason as well, where he had six goals and 11 points in 23 games.
While clearly irritated, Nichushkin can find joy in the fact that he and his teammates handed Perry yet another loss in the Cup Final. This loss makes it three straight losses in the Cup final for him, as he lost in 2020 as a member of the Dallas Stars, as well as in 2021 while playing with the Montreal Canadiens.
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