Montreal Canadiens: Three Recent Habs That Will Be First Ballot Hall of Famers
Corey Perry
Corey Perry only played one season with the Montreal Canadiens, but it seemed to be a renaissance of sorts. He started the year as a healthy scratch and was put on waivers, leading many to believe his career could be over.
But he stuck around and battled long enough to earn a regular role on the team and he would score 21 points in 49 games for the Habs in that odd 2020-21 All-Canadian Division season. This season, he was much better scoring 19 goals and 40 points in 82 games for the Tampa Bay Lightning.
He also lost in the Stanley Cup Final for the third consecutive season, but he has been solid in each postseason, scoring 11 points for the Lightning this year in 23 playoff games.
Perry’s sheer numbers aren’t the most impressive resumé but his career can’t be described by raw goals and points. He did reach the 400 goal threshold this season, and his next goal will put him into the top 100 all time. He also has 858 career points, and could reach 900 if he scores like he did this season in the final year of his contract. If he plays two more seasons, he will surely pass 900 points.
That would not be quite enough to put him in the Hall of Fame on its own. He is only 25 goals back of Bill Guerin for his career, and Perry has more points than the current Minnesota Wild GM who was inducted in the Hall of Fame in 2013.
So, Perry is right there, but it a few other accolades that put him over the top. Perry led the NHL in goals in 2010-11 and was voted as the Hart Trophy winner as league MVP that season. A Hart and a Maurice Richard award are a couple of nice cherries on top of the career resumé.
He has also had a tremendous international career and won just about everything a hockey player can. In Junior, Perry was a key member of one of the best CHL teams of all time, leading the London Knights to an OHL Championship as well as a Memorial Cup. He was named league MVP in the regular season and also took home the OHL Playoff MVP that year. He also won gold at the World Juniors that season.
Since turning pro, Perry has won the Stanley Cup in 2007 with the Anaheim Ducks. He won a World Cup, a World Championships, and two Olympic Gold Medals.
All that winning, plus a Hart and a Maurice Richard award, plus more than 400 close and possibly 900 points by the time he calls it a career adds up to a first ballot Hall of Fame player.