Corey Perry’s contract termination, explained: How the NHL process works and

Corey Perry’s focus is not on hockey right now.

As the veteran forward made clear in a statement released after the Chicago Blackhawks terminated his contract for a material breach, Perry is prioritizing his family and his health in this period in which he’s not employed by a team during the NHL season for the first time since 2004.

“I have started working with experts in the mental health and substance abuse fields to discuss my struggles with alcohol and I will take whatever steps necessary to ensure this never happens again,” Perry wrote in a statement released Thursday. “I hope to regain the trust and respect of everyone who has believed in me.”

The specific details of what caused Chicago to cut ties with its alternate captain remain unknown. Blackhawks general manager Kyle Davidson called it a “workplace matter” and indicated that it didn’t involve criminal activity.

His organization is understandably sensitive to any incident involving employee misconduct after it failed to act in 2010 when former player Kyle Beach alleged he had been sexually assaulted by video coach Brad Aldridge. The Blackhawks paid a $2 million fine to the NHL for “inadequate internal procedures and insufficient and untimely response” when details of that situation emerged in 2021 and also reached a confidential settlement with Beach.

Still, a contract termination like the one they initiated with Perry is rare in the NHL — particularly since it involves a former Hart Trophy winner who has a borderline case for eventual induction to the Hockey Hall of Fame.

In recent years, NHL clubs have typically executed contract terminations in cases involving criminal charges (Slava Voynov, Mike Richards) or for lesser transgressions involving bottom-of-the-roster players (Brendan Leipsic, Jake Dotchin).

Perry’s case appears to land somewhere in the middle of those two poles, at least based on how Davidson loosely framed what went on during an emotional media availability in Chicago on Tuesday night.

Even at age 38, Perry was an important player for the Blackhawks. He was wearing a letter, being paid $4 million to serve as a mentor in a young dressing room and sat as the team’s third-leading point producer when information reached management last week that prompted his removal from the lineup while an investigation was launched.

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By Tuesday, Perry had been placed on unconditional waivers for the purpose of contract termination. It was a stunning turn of events with potential repercussions extending far beyond the situation at hand.

Precedent

With no disrespect intended toward anyone affected by Perry’s actions and no judgment passed on the circumstances that led him here since they remain largely unknown, it’s worth stepping back to understand what represents reasonable grounds to terminate an NHL contract.

The standard is exceptionally high.

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