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The Anaheim Ducks winger had an epic 2010-11 season, smashing records for goal scoring and point totals along the way to the prestigious honor of the Hart Memorial Trophy
2010-11 was a season to remember for Corey Perry, the Anaheim Ducks, and their fans. After a rocky start, the team roared back to finish 4th in the Western Conference standings.
This came from career-setting contributions from players like Lubomir Visnovsky, Ryan Getzlaf, Jonas Hiller, Cam Fowler, and Teemu Selanne. But nobody was more vital to the electrifying Ducks comeback that year than Perry.
Perry led the league with 50 goals as well as game-winning goals, solidifying his position as the biggest game-breaking forward in the NHL. What really grabbed the attention of the league was Perry’s monstrous stretch run to essentially catapult the Ducks into the playoffs and into a first round, home ice advantage (which in the end served them no good after an exit against the Nashville Predators). By March 9th, Perry had only scored 33 goals in total, adding a final 17 by April 6, 2011 against the San Jose Sharks.
Perry’s third goal in that game is somewhat iconic in Anaheim’s 20-year history. Perry’s mark of 50 goals would make him Anaheim’s second recipient of the Maurice Rocket Richard Trophy, awarded to the player with the most goals over the course of a season. Anaheim’s first winner was Selanne. With just over 9 minutes left to play in the second period on a Ducks 5-on-3 man advantage, Selanne passed the puck into the crease where Perry’s stick was waiting to tap in his 50th goal. In a sense, it was Selanne passing the torch to Perry to pave his own way to becoming the next big star in the city of Anaheim. It was an electric moment as Perry was showered with roaring cheers, hats, and chants of MVP ringing throughout Honda Center.
Perry joined Selanne and Paul Kariya as the only members of the Anaheim Ducks organization to score 50 or more goals in an Anaheim uniform. The Ducks would finish with 99 points – thanks to Perry’s late season surge, but suffered an early playoff exit at the hands of the Predators.
In Las Vegas at the NHL awards, it was announced Perry had won the Hart Memorial Trophy as league MVP – edging out finalists Daniel Sedin and Martin St. Louis, becoming the first player in franchise history to be named MVP while playing for the Ducks.
Perry won the award with 1043 points from the voters, while Daniel Sedin had 960. Perry won the award as the third highest scoring forward in the league (98 points), showing the media had recognized Perry’s ability to take his team on his back and help them win games even when the cylinders weren’t firing 100%. Perry’s win, expectedly, was met with some controversy. The players had voted for Daniel Sedin, the league’s leading scorer to win the Ted Lindsay award, and many felt that it was Daniel Sedin who deserved the Hart as well.
But, the official definition of the Hart Memorial Trophy is that it is awarded to the “…player judged most valuable to his team” in the National Hockey League.
The simplest way to justify Perry’s win: Without Daniel Sedin in the lineup, the Vancouver Canucks would have comfortably made the playoffs, and in all likelihood would have acquired home ice advantage. Without Perry the Ducks simply would not have made the playoffs and would likely have been in the draft lottery range. His large number of 3rd period goals and game-winning goals suggest that Perry played a large part in the 2011 Ducks being known as the “comeback kids.” The Ducks organization and their fans can and will be forever proud of what Perry accomplished in 2011.
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