Reaction to Corey Perry’s Extension With Anaheim Ducks
The Anaheim Ducks have taken the top two potential free-agents and locked them up for the next eight years when they signed Corey Perry to an 8-year, $69 million dollar deal on Monday which includes a full, no-trade clause.
Perry was the speculation of much trade talk with the belief that the Ducks would deal him either prior to the April 3rd deadline or sometime this off-season before losing him to free-agency. One could argue that the Ducks surprised many in the hockey world by inking to the deal so quickly after the Getzlaf signing. But what a better way to show you’re committed to winning than by retaining your two superstars.
Reaction continues to pour in from around the NHL today. Twitter has blown up and multiple reports have been posted all over the web. With that, here’s the latest reactions to the Perry signing.
The obvious name that has come up as to who might be the most affected by the Perry signing is forward Bobby Ryan. While his contract doesn’t run out until after the 2014-15 season, the rumblings have already started that Ryan could be the player the Ducks look to move at this year’s trade deadline or in the offseason. With a cap hit of $5.1 million for each of the next two seasons and the team committing $17 million a year to both Perry and Getzlaf, Ryan could be the odd man out in Anaheim.
Of course there is the logical argument that both Saku Koivu and Teemu Selanne will be unrestricted free-agents after this season which will alleviate the Ducks of over $8 million. So keeping Ryan’s contract and allowing the 38 and 40-year old veterans walk would be the wise choice when comparing either of them to the 26-year old Ryan.
Bob McKenzie of TSN reports via Twitter that Perry and his agent met last Wednesday to mull over their options. On Saturday Perry informed them that he wanted to stay in Anaheim and as McKenzie says, “the deal came together quickly.”
McKenzie also points out some of the reasons Perry chose to stay in Anaheim were 1) knowing who is captain was going to be in Getzlaf 2) the Ducks have been much better this season than anyone expected them to be, 3) getting that 8th year by re-signing with his current team versus signing via free agency that would restrict him to 7 years and 4) McKenzie notes that his annual $8.625 million is slightly below market value, but not by much.
Elliotte Friedman from CBC via Twitter mentions that the Ducks will now have to learn to manage the salary cap by committing such a large amount of it to just two players. He mentions that the Pittsburgh Penguins have been able to do it, so there’s no reason why the Ducks can’t follow suit.
Roger Millions of Sportsnet thinks the Ducks were smart in locking up their dynamic duo of Perry and Getzlaf, saying that a one-two combination like that doesn’t come along very often. He then states that the Ducks third and fourth lines might “suck” but it’ll be worth the risk.
Bruce Garrioch from the Ottawa Sun wonders if the “squeeze will be on the middle class players” until the salary cap goes up. He then asnwers his own question by saying “yes, the best will get the cash.”