California Dreamin'

The Anaheim Ducks have signed their two biggest pending free agents in Corey Perry and Ryan Getzlaf in the past few weeks for roughly $17 a year combined. Speaking after he signed his deal Perry said he had talked to Getzlaf shortly after he had signed his and his desire for Perry to stick around was a big reason he chose to stay in California. There were a lot of rumors that he would test free agency since he had gone this long without signing as well as the fact that he may want to play closer to home in Ontario. The Ducks franchise had to step up and spend a lot of money on their stars but moving forward could they afford not to? The team has an impressive crop of young talent coming along and look to be a contender for the next few years at least. Money is obviously always a huge consideration when moving forward but you need cornerstone players like this to anchor your franchise, provide leadership as well as interest perspective free agents to your team.

Perry is from the Peterborough area and there was a lot of talk that he would possibly sign with the Leafs, or if the wishes of one crazy blogger (not saying, just saying) came true perhaps Ottawa to be closer to family and friends. This is noble sentiment and I'm sure few people would blame him for doing so. You need only look at the example of Ryan Suter and Zack Parise signing with the Minnesota Wild to see that it does happen. But in the bigger picture, would this have been a good move? Ottawa is certainly a team with a lot of talent and moving forward with a player like Perry they would likely be a contender in a year or two. There is also the previous relationship with Bryan Murray the GM who drafter him. Toronto is on the other end of the scale. Sure he knew Randy Carlyle and won a Stanley Cup with him but after his exodus from Anaheim last year who knows how Perry feels and the Leafs are certainly a ways away from being a contender. It was said that sometimes that grass isn't always greener and if you look at what Anaheim is doing this year and has the potential to do moving forward it is little wonder he'd want to stay where he is.