There were as many as ten teams intrigued and four teams rumored to be pushing hard to land veteran forward Corey Perry on the eve of free agency. It appears the Dallas Stars have won the day as the former Anaheim Duck and NHL MVP has agreed to a one-year deal with the Stars.
The deal is worth $1.5 million for one season with as much as another $1.5 -$2 million in bonuses available. This deal, normally reserved for players aged 35 and up was available to Perry and the Stars because of the over-100 days he missed due to injury last season.
When Did Perry Choose the Stars?
On Sunday night, TSN’s Frank Seravalli wrote:
Perry had played with the Anaheim Ducks for 14 seasons but will move on after being bought out by the Ducks organization in an effort to get younger and faster.
Dallas seems to be a good fit as they have a strong offensive core consisting of Tyler Seguin, Jamie Benn and Alexander Radulov. Perry will have a variety of options or linemates.
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The Perry Deal
Corey Perry is in a no-risk situation here. Signing a one-year contract but being paid by the Ducks for the next four seasons, he’ll be making less than he would have still being in Anaheim, but in a situation that better suits him and with performance bonuses, one that’s quite lucrative.
Prior to signing this deal with the Stars, there was buzz the Edmonton Oilers were making a hard pitch for the forward and that he had a selection of options available for his services. Seravalli had tweeted on Sunday:
Interesting day for Corey Perry camp. He’s been pitched by 10 teams, some really intriguing options. Perry is in the process of whittling down list to 3-4 finalists today, but a couple teams have jumped in late, realizing they’re out on other UFAs.
Eventually, Perry chose the Stars, a team he’d been terrorizing on the scoresheet for over a decade.
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Perry Is No Longer Elite
Perry is what he is at the age of 34. No longer an elite player that will compete for the scoring title in the NHL, he does offer leadership and experience on a team that likes to have veterans in pivotal roles.
The Stars had just parted ways with Jason Spezza at the end of the season and Perry essentially fills in as a voice in the locker room that has been there and done that.
And, despite his slowing down, his nastiness and edge is something that will probably never leave him. There’s some value in that grit that teams like, especially come playoff time where the Stars hope to be competing next season.
Perry will join Joe Pavelski who also signed with the Stars after it was clear he was going to move on from the San Jose Sharks and the Tampa Bay Lightning couldn’t fit him in under their salary cap.
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