- Elliotte Friedman of CBC: Ryan Getzlaf signed an eight year, $66 million deal with the Ducks last week. They were hoping to get him signed to salary cap hit of $7.5 million, but there was no way that they could let both Getzlaf and Corey Perry approach the trade deadline without deals. The Ducks now have four options regarding Perry.
1. Sign him: The Ducks have said they want to sign him to an extension, but it’s hard to tell how negotiations have gone. The Ducks were believed to be willing to go long-term before the lockout, but wouldn’t do any ‘back-diving’ deals. It’s not known how much Perry wants to stay in Anaheim. It’s thought that he may want to play closer to Ontario. The Ducks 18-3-3 record may make the decision a little harder. Friedman thinks the Ducks should put forth their best offer in the next couple weeks and see what happens. It could be eight years and between $72 and $80 million.
2. Trade him: A brutual choice. Unless you are able to getting a bidding war, they won’t get a lot for him. If they don’t trade him, they could lose him for nothing like what happened with Justin Schultz. It’s a tough decision since they are Stanley Cup contender.
3. Go for it: They are a contender, so keep him and take a run at the Cup. You are not in position to challenge every year. The Devils did it last year with Zach Parise and made it to the finals. Ryan Suter helped the Predators get into the second round. It didn’t work out will for Brad Richards and the Dallas Stars though.
4. Play ball together: The Ducks have the edge as they can sign him to an eight your deal, while other teams could only go seven years if he hit the open market. Players can talk with teams during a specified time period before free agency begins. He may not like what he hears and decides to re-sign with the Ducks. Or the Ducks could say: “Look, is it possible you’d tell us the two or three teams you’re interested in, so we can pit them against each other and try to make a trade? In exchange, you get an extra $9-10 million.” Problem is, teams may not trade much since they could sign and not give up anything.
- Craig Custance of ESPN: Custance looks at how Getzlaf’s deal impacts the trade market. Teams covet centers as it’s tough to win without having two good ones. Getzlaf would have been the top center that could have been available at the deadline had he not signed the contract extension. Custance lists top-6 unrestricted centers that could be available leading up to the trade deadline.
1. Mike Ribeiro (WSH): With the Capitals stuck in a hole this season, GM George McPhee could move Ribeiro for a first round pick and a prospect. The Capitals would then need to find a top-6 center for next season. There are concerns about signing Ribeiro to a long-term deal since he is 33-years old. He has 28 points in 24 games but is at 42.6 percent in faceoffs.
2. Derek Roy (DAL): The Stars and Roy have been discussing a long-term deal. If they can’t get a deal done, the Stars can’t afford to let him go for nothing.
3. Stephen Weiss (FLA): Weiss is out for the season after wrist surgery, but someone may want to acquire so they have a longer time period to work out an extension. It would also allow them to go eight years and not seven.
4. Valtteri Filppula (DET): The Red Wings may not be willing to move Filppula, especially in the middle of a playoff run. He plays more on the wing in Detroit, but he has the skill to be a second line center on a good team. He’s the youngest of this group at 28. He could be the piece to get the Red Wings a top four defenseman that they are looking for. He is not easily replaced though, especially if Datsyk heads back to Russia after his contract expires in 2014.