Oilers' Evander Kane makes feelings known about 40-year-old veteran turning back the clock with outstanding playoff figures

Edmonton Oilers forward Evander Kane talked about the upcoming Stanley Cup Final and his teammate Corey Perry. He joined Jeremy Roenick and Tim Peel on SNIPES & STRIPES and one of the main topics was Perry and his strong playoff performance at age 40.

Perry is playing his second season with the Oilers and also his second Stanley Cup finals with the team. Kane praised Perry’s effort and experience and said age does not matter if you know how to play the game well.

[19:38] "Age is just a number," Kane said. "Everybody wants youth and young and young. But if you look at it, I think we're the oldest team in the league. We're back-to-back in the Cup Finals. You definitely need players like true NHL players. You need a lot of them in order to win. You need experience, and there's nobody more experienced on our team than Corey Perry."

Kane believes experience helps in key moments and said Perry brings that to the team.

"The one thing you don't lose is your touch and your feel," Kane said. "He's always been a guy around the net. He scores a lot of his goals in or around the net."

Perry has scored seven goals and has 10 points in 16 playoff games this year. He turned 40 on May 16. His goal in Game 5 against Dallas gave the Oilers an early lead. It was Edmonton’s first shot of the game.

With Zach Hyman out due to injury, Perry has moved to the top line with Connor McDavid and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. This gives him his best offensive role since his time with the Ducks. Perry now holds the record for most goals in a single postseason by a player aged 39 or older at the start of the playoffs.

Corey Perry talked about Edmonton Oilers returning to the Stanley Cup Final

Corey Perry said that returning to the Final was something they planned after last season’s loss. The Oilers lost to the Florida Panthers in Game 7 of the 2024 Final. He said the team knew they would be back and worked hard to return.

"Excited, obviously. I've said this throughout the whole playoffs that this is why we play," Perry said, via NHL.com. "This is what we do. These are things you dream about. Some guys in here haven't been there, some guys in here know the feeling, and we said last year right after Game 7 that we'd be back. We'll see what we can do."

The Oilers have a strong group leading the offense, with captain Connor McDavid leading the charge with 26 points in the playoffs. Draisaitl has 25 and Nugent-Hopkins has 18. In goal, Stuart Skinner has three shutouts in 10 starts and a .904 save percentage.

Edmonton has won five Stanley Cups in its history. They last won in 1990 and lost the Final in 2006 and 2024. Now they are back in the Final with the help of veteran players like Corey Perry.