Is Corey Perry worth $10 million per season?

COREY PERRY RUMORS

Ryan Getzlaf yesterday agreed to an 8 year, $66 million extension with the Anaheim Ducks and Getzlaf was always expected to be the easier sign than Corey Perry whose future in Anaheim is up in the air.

Getzlaf is one of the premier two-way centermen in the game, but he clearly didn’t give the Ducks a hometown discount. His AAV of $8.25 million is on track to be the fourth highest cap hit in the NHL next season.

The Getzlaf signing now puts all eyes on star winger Corey Perry.

While Perry has interest in resigning with the Ducks, many in league circles feel Perry and his representatives at Newport Sports are determined to test the open market.

The Ducks know this and that’s why they will strongly consider trading him if there’s no progress towards a deal between now and April 3rd.

Ducks GM Bob Murray is in such a tough spot. If it wasn’t for the Chicago Blackhawks amazing run (that ended last night) the Ducks would be a bigger story this season. Anaheim is the second best team in the NHL with 37 points and have the look of a legitimate contender out West.

Murray can still roll the dice and keep Perry for a playoff run, hoping the advantage of being able to sign Perry to an 8 year deal after the season intrigues Perry enough not to test the open market as the eight-year re-signing option expires for UFAs with the opening of free agency in July.

However, despite the Ducks success and how important Perry is to this team, the smartest move is to see if a team is willing to pay the premium the Ducks are expected to covet.

TSN’s Darren Dreger reports the Los Angeles Kings, Philadelphia Flyers, Toronto Maple Leafs and Boston Bruins are among the teams fully expected to be interested in Perry. The Flyers are a sleeper team as they covet a long-term winger for Claude Giroux.

A league source told me he expects Penguins GM Ray Shero to look into Perry from the standpoint of just seeing what’s going on there but it would be a shock in league circles that the Penguins make a play for him. Maybe the Penguins get into the mix for the sole purpose of possibly driving the price up on the Boston Bruins or the Flyers for example, but Perry to Pittsburgh isn’t happening.

Perry is an elite talent but is he an elite player that is worth $9 to $10 million per season? I’d say no.

Perry’s has had one elite season, 2010-2011 when he took home the Hart Trophy with a 50 goal and 98 point season.

In reality though, he’s more of a 75-80 point per season player than the 95-100 point player he played like in 2010-2011.

2007-2008: 70 GP – 29 goals – 25 assists – 54 points

2008-2009: 78 GP – 32 goals – 40 assists – 72 points

2009-2010: 82 GP – 27 goals – 49 assists – 76 points

2010-2011: 82 GP – 50 Goals – 48 Assists – 98 Points

2011-2012: 80 GP – 37 Goals – 23 Assists – 60 Points

2012-2013: 23 GP – 7 Goals – 15 Assists – 22 Points