Ducks to have contract talks with Perry, Getzlaf soon

The Anaheim Ducks will kickstart another round of contract talks with Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry within the next 7-10 days, according to ESPN’s Pierre LeBrun.

Both are scheduled to be UFAs at season’s end. The pair signed matching five-year, $26.25 million deals in 2008 and, with both turning 28 in May, could be the stars of free agency — should things get that far.

Here’s more, from LeBrun:

It’s going to be awfully interesting to see how the Ducks play it as April 3 approaches if those two stars still haven’t re-signed. Just my own gut feeling: I think a Getzlaf extension will get done, but I’m not sure about Perry at this point.

On the one hand, you figure there’s no way you can afford to trade Perry, given that the Ducks are challenging for first overall in the NHL standings.

On the other hand, every GM in the league watched as Nashville kept Ryan Suter past the trade deadline last season, as did New Jersey with Zach Parise. Then the GM saw both players walk out the door July 1, getting nothing in return.

LeBrun belives there’s “a real chance” the Ducks could consider moving Perry if he’s not re-signed by Apr. 3, thanks in large part to how the Suter and Parise scenarios played out.

Going back even further, one could look at the middling returns Florida got for Jay Bouwmeester in 2009 as a cautionary tale.

The Panthers didn’t move him prior to the trade deadline, then shipped his negotiating rights to Calgary for a third-round pick and the negotiating rights to Jordan Leopold.

Of course, that Panthers team failed to make the playoffs — unlike the Predators and Devils of last season. Dealing away someone of Perry’s magnitude is awfully difficult when the postseason is in view.