Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
If you can’t beat them, join them, right?
Less than a month after losing to the Tampa Bay Lightning in the Stanley Cup final, Corey Perry is set to leave Montreal to join the Florida-based outfit. According to ESPN’s Kevin Weeks, Perry is signing a two-year deal with the Lightning worth $1-million per season.
Perry joins the Lightning after a strong post-season with the Habs. Given he was playing on a one-year, $750,000 deal last season, there weren’t a ton of expectations for the 2011 NHL MVP and Triple Gold Club member. He’s 36 and far beyond his prime, yet he took his value to the team to an all-new level in the playoffs.
Perry finished with four goals and 10 points in 22 games, and while that’s not that much, you couldn’t go a period without noticing him in a meaningful way. The kids looked up to him, the fans went crazy for him and it was hard not to love watching him play the way he did this late in his career.
Perry’s deal is an inexpensive one for a team strapped for cash. The Lightning currently has no cap space, but did manage to sign inexpensive deals with forward Pierre-Edouard Bellemare ($1-million AAV) and Zach Bogosian ($850,000 AAV for three years) on Wednesday.
