Ducks, Perry Reach Deal For Eight Year Extension
ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — The Anaheim Ducks agreed to an eight-year contract extension with right wing Corey Perry on Monday, keeping the former NHL MVP with the club through the 2020-21 NHL season.
The Ducks announced the deal after the first period of their game against the San Jose Sharks.
Perry's new deal is the same length as the extension signed by captain Ryan Getzlaf earlier this month. Just 10 days after Anaheim signed Getzlaf to an eight-year, $66 million extension, Ducks owner Henry Samueli signed another enormous check for Perry, the goal-scoring beneficiary of Getzlaf's play-making.
Perry and Getzlaf came into the NHL together and have played on the same line for nearly every game of their careers, winning the Stanley Cup in 2007 and earning Olympic gold medals for Canada together in 2010.
"Staying in Anaheim has always been my first choice," Perry said. "This is a great place to play, and I'm very grateful to have the opportunity to remain here. I want to thank to the Samuelis and the entire Ducks organization for their belief in me. I'm pleased to have this done so our focus can remain on our ultimate goal -- bringing another Stanley Cup to Orange County."
Perry's new deal should be a major boost to the Ducks, who have the NHL's second-best record during a 20-3-4 start to the season. Perry's impending unrestricted free agency could have forced Anaheim to consider trading its top goal-scorer to avoid losing him for nothing, but the Ducks now have their two top scorers signed for the foreseeable future.
Perry was named league MVP in 2011, when he won the Richard Trophy as the NHL's top goal-scorer with his first 50-goal season. The physical forward has 453 points in 555 games with the Ducks.
"We are excited that Corey has committed to us for the next eight years," Ducks general manager Bob Murray said. "Similar to the case with Ryan Getzlaf, Corey wanted to stay in Anaheim and be part of our organization long-term. He is an exceptional player who competes with heart and soul and has won at every level."
Perry wasn't in uniform for the Ducks on Monday night while he served the third game of a four-game suspension for an illegal hit on Minnesota's Jason Zucker. Perry is the Ducks' second-leading scorer this season with 24 points in 25 games, including nine goals.
He set career highs with 50 goals and 98 points during his MVP season, but Perry has been a remarkably consistent NHL scorer since his debut during the 2005-06 season. He has scored at least 27 goals in each of the past five seasons, getting at least 60 points in each of the past four.
Perry and Getzlaf were drafted together in the first round in 2003. Perry, a three-time All-Star, is the third-leading goal-scorer in Ducks franchise history and fourth in scoring, trailing only Teemu Selanne, Paul Kariya and Getzlaf.
Perry has scored 96 goals since the start of the 2010-11 NHL season, second only to Tampa Bay's Steven Stamkos' 126 during that time.
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