Corey Perry will join Vancouver’s Daniel Sedin and Tampa Bay’s Martin St. Louis on the podium for the Hart Trophy when postseason awards are distributed in Las Vegas on June 22.
We’ve already examined Perry’s Hart credentials. Here’s some more info from the team:
Perry is attempting to join Wayne Gretzky (1988-89) as the only players from the local market (Ducks and Kings) to win the league’s most valuable player award.
“Congratulations to Corey on this very well-deserved honor,” said Ducks Executive Vice President/General Manager Bob Murray. “His heart, work ethic and clutch performances all season make him a tremendous candidate for this award.”
Perry, 25 (5/16/85), becomes just the third player in Ducks history to be named a finalist for the award (no Duck has won the trophy). Fellow teammate Teemu Selanne was a Hart Trophy finalist in 1997-98 (finished third in voting), while Paul Kariya was the runner-up (second in voting) following the 1996-97 season. Only six other players from California-based teams have been Hart Trophy finalists in the history of the NHL. Of those six, two have won the award (Gretzky in 1988-89 with Los Angeles and Joe Thornton in 2005-06 with San Jose). One of only two Ducks to appear in all 82 games in 2010-11, Perry won the Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophy as the NHL’s top goal scorer with a career-high 50 goals and 98 points (50-48=98, +9 rating). He became just the second Ducks player to win the Richard Trophy (also Selanne in 1998-99).
A native of Peterborough, Ontario, Perry’s 50 goals in 2010-11 were the most by a Ducks player since Selanne had 52 in 1997-98. Among league leaders, he also ranked third in points and tied for fifth in power play goals (14) and shorthanded goals (4). In addition, his 11 game-winning goals co-led the league (also Washington’s Alex Ovechkin). His 22:18 average time-on-ice ranked second among all NHL forwards and first among all right wingers. Perry also led the league with 21 third period goals (no other player had more than 18 – San Jose’s Patrick Marleau) and was tops with 23 third period/overtime goals. His 21 third period goals were also the most in Ducks history (Selanne had 19 in 1996-97) and the most by any Western Conference player since Jonathan Cheechoo (SJ) had 21 in 2005-06. Over the last 20 games of the regular season, Perry led the NHL in goals and points (19-12=31 with a +12), lifting the Ducks to a fourth-place place finish in the Western Conference.
The Ducks went 15-5-0 over their last 20 games. The 6-3, 212-pound winger was named the NHL’s “First Star of the Month” for March, and also received NHL “Stars of the Week” honors on four occasions in 2010-11: First Star of the Week on Apr. 4, Second Star of the Week on Mar. 28 and Third Star of the Week on both Mar. 14 and Feb. 7.
