Corey Perry taken off the ice in a wheelchair.

You hate to see something like this happen to any player before the start of a season in the National Hockey League, but it is especially difficult to see it happen to a well respected veteran that is likely in the twilight of their career.

Veteran NHL forward Corey Perry appears to have suffered a serious injury during his preparations for the upcoming 2025-26 NHL regular season, with Perry reportedly taken off of the ice in a wheelchair on Friday during an on-ice workout. Although NHL training camps have not yet begun to get underway Perry, who is one of the oldest active players in the NHL at 40 years of age, was on the ice and working hard to ensure that he is in good shape for the season.

It is unclear at this time how the injury occurred and it may in fact be the intent of the parties involved to keep the details vague. Late on Friday evening, NHL insider Elliotte Friedman broke the news that there was a real possibility of no further information being made before training camp officially gets underway for the Los Angeles Kings.

Perry signed a one year deal with the Kings during the opening of free agency on July 1st, a contract with an average annual value and cap hit of $2 million per season. Fans of the Edmonton Oilers, Perry's previous team, were disappointed to see the fan favorite move on but Perry received a very substantial offer for a player at this stage of his career. That offer came courtesy of former Oilers general manager, and current Kings general manager, Ken Holland who of course knows Perry very well from their time in Edmonton together.

I can only hope that Perry will make a full and speedy recovery, one that will allow him to make a return in time to be an impact player for the Kings this season.

Stay tuned for more on this developing story.