Corey Perry Remains Away From Blackhawks As Rumors Run Rampant

When the Blackhawks traveled to Columbus last Wednesday to endure a pretty ugly beatdown, they did so with notably thinned forward ranks. With Andreas Athanasiou already out of the lineup, star winger Taylor Hall was a late scratch with a lingering injury that eventually would require season-ending surgery. The team added to the bad news when veteran forward Corey Perry was a healthy scratch.

After the game, head coach Luke Richardson told reporters that the move to scratch Perry from the lineup was “an organizational decision”. It was shocking news, to say the least, as he was one of the most effective scorers of a team that had been extremely lackluster in that area to begin the season.

Fast forward nearly a week, and Perry is still away from the team. His agent, Pat Morris, released the following statement Saturday morning:

It’s a situation where the only thing that’s clear is that nothing is clear. While no specific details have been provided regarding his departure, rumors have begun to fly - enough so that Perry and Connor Bedard were both trending Monday afternoon on Twitter/X despite the Blackhawks not playing a game that day.

Hockey fans have criticized the Blackhawks for their lack of transparency while this issue has been taking place. Chicago pledged to “be more transparent” during the aftermath of the Kyle Beach scandal. However, it’s important to keep in mind that the team can’t always tell the full story immediately. Perry’s right to privacy takes precedence over the team’s promise to be straightforward. We’ll likely have some sort of answers from the organization when it’s appropriate to release that information.

As rumors continue to fly around the Corey Perry situation, it’s important to remember that his absence could be due to a number of different reasons. The Blackhawks clearly aren’t compelled to divulge any specific information at this point, and they shouldn’t have to, regardless of the past. Hopefully, the next time we talk about Perry, it’s about his return to the lineup as he continues to be a leader on and off the ice.