After years of battling Corey Perry in the Pacific Division, Ryan Kesler said that upon coming to the Anaheim Ducks, the most surprising thing that Kesler learned about his onetime enemy is that Perry's actually a really good guy.
Perhaps Kesler should introduce NBC Sports analyst Mike Milbury to Perry. He's seen Scorey Perry and Pesky Perry in action, but based on Milbury's comments made during the Wednesday night broadcast of the Eastern Conference Finals game, it's probably safe to say that he hasn't met Corey Perry the person.
When asked how he would stop Perry, the second-leading scorer in the postseason, a former NHL coach for the Bruins and Islanders said, "If I were playing against Corey Perry, I'd probably want to hurt him in some painful and permanent way."
Perry, clearly angered about the remarks after Thursday's morning skate, feels the comment was way out of line.
"Obviously, it's not something that's been taken lightly," Perry said. "If somebody said something about his kids, how would he feel? It's kind of my response ... Somebody would hurt somebody in a permanent way? It's not something anyone would really say. I didn't hear it, no. I got wind of it. People have talked about it. It's disappointing, but people have their opinions. People say things they might regret later on."
His head coach, Bruce Boudreau, declined to comment.
Bruce Boudreau on Mike Milbury's comments about wanting to "hurt Corey Perry in a permanent way." https://t.co/Ehe7U4Nw9M
— Abbey Mastracco (@AbbeyMastracco) May 21, 2015
"I'm taking the cheap way out here, but I don't want to get into Mike says," he said. "It's TV. I'm really happy Corey Perry is on my team."
Fans are now calling for Milbury to be removed from the broadcast of Thursday night's Western Conference Finals game between the Ducks and the Chicago Blackhawks. Perry feels an apology is in order, as do his teammates.
"One-hundred percent," said Ducks captain and Perry's longtime linemate Ryan Getzlaf. "I'm sure he will. I expect nothing else. You go out and make mistakes on national TV, I expect you to make an apology for it."
While Perry might be notorious for his antics on the ice, they're mostly inconsequential. Never would Perry intentionally target a player with anything more than a water bottle.
"I think what pretty much sums it up was two seasons ago, what was really funny was when (Alexander) Semin was sitting on the bench and Pears stole his stick," said Anaheim winger Kyle Palmieri. "It's one of those things where you don't see it during the game and you see it on the clip after and you laugh about it. So I think those things are harmless. Just doing those things to get under their skin. He does a great job at it, and it's not like no other teams try and get under his skin."
It's almost as though Perry's created an on-ice persona, which is the opposite of his off-ice reality.
Into the madhouse. #NHLDucks enter hostile territory for Game 3 matchup. PREVIEW: http://t.co/sNdgp1DjT6 #LetsGoDucks pic.twitter.com/bRnyEVEisr
— Anaheim Ducks (@AnaheimDucks) May 21, 2015
"He's a nice guy and he's quiet and keeps to himself most of the time," Palmieri said. "As soon as he puts on the jersey, he gets that level of focus and will to get the job done."
Whether or not it was a joke, a slip-up or an intentional comment from Milbury, the Ducks feel that the comment about one of their team leaders was classless and off-base.
"It's kind of something you don't say in public," Ducks winger Matt Beleskey said. "I don't know why he said it. I'm sure he got caught up in the moment. Got a little caught up and said something that probably he would take back."
