Well, the dream of signing Corey Perry in the off-season has officially died. The Anaheim Ducks have inked the Peterborough native to a massive eight year, $69 million contract. In spite of rumors that he'd test the market, Perry chose to stay with the only NHL franchise he's ever played for. According to Bob McKenzie, Perry gave various reasons why he chose the Ducks including his relationship with captain Ryan Getzlaf and Anaheim's position in the standings as well as the fact that re-signing clubs can provide eight year contracts while new clubs can only provide seven year contracts. In summary, it's a sad day for fans interested in Perry's services and a happy day for the winger's family. Whether you fall into the former or the latter (hi, Mr. Perry), here are some links for the day:

Habs News and Analysis

• All is relatively quiet on the roster front. Michael Ryder was practicing alongside Brian Gionta and Tomas Plekanec on Monday and is expected to be in the lineup tonight. As of March 18th, Brandon Prust, Rene Bourque and Yannick Weber have all resumed skating while Raphael Diaz has yet to hit the ice.
• Colby Armstrong comments on ending his goal-scoring drought. Bill Beacon over at the Montreal Gazette has the scoop.
• Many Habs, including David Desharnais, Lars Eller, and Colby Armstrong, appreciate the services of Sylvain Guimond, the team's "sports psychology consultant." Sean Gordon over at the Globe and Mail has all the details.

Know Your Enemy: Buffalo Sabres Edition

• I haven't been able to find much roster information on the Buffalo Sabres. However, we should expect Jhonas Enroth to start given that he was last off the ice at practice this morning.
• Mikhail Grigorenko played well in his first game back in the QMJHL, scoring a goal and adding three assists. Kris Baker over at SabresProspects.com feels that the addition of Grigorenko turns the fifth place Remparts into legitimate QMJHL playoff contenders.
• Ryan Miller said that Patrick Kaleta "needs to grow up" and has since apologized for the comments. This is a pretty uninteresting story, but I've got nothing else to share.

General News and Analysis

• As was discussed in the introduction, the biggest news of the day is that Corey Perry is no longer a pending UFA. The winger re-upped with the Anaheim Ducks on an eight year contract with an annual average value of $8.625 million. Perry will be 36 years and 1 month old when the contract expires on July 1, 2021. Alex Semin becomes the best pending UFA, although Carolina GM Jim Rutherford has expressed interest in pursuing a second contract the Russian winger.
• The folks over at Anaheim Calling react to the Corey Perry news, feeling that this deal buys GM Bob Murray more time in the captain's chair. Check out the comments section for some banter.
• NHL Numbers' Cam Charron is not a fan of the Corey Perry signing taking into consideration Gabe Desjardins' research on peak ages, the Ryan Getzlaf contract, and Anaheim's financial status. The Ducks are committing a massive amount of money to a player on the wrong end of his peak when their current (possession) performance likely indicates that they're not that close to competing.
• Contracts will be structured differently under the new CBA, in light of the the new stipulations on year-over-year salary variance and term restrictions. Jonathan Willis over at Oilers Nation compares Perry and Getzlaf to Crosby as a way to illustrate this point.
• Hockey Canada has announced its roster for the 2013 Women's World Hockey Championship, which is taking place in Ottawa from April 2-9. The article has a fact I found impressive: Team Canada has appeared in every Women's World Championship gold medal game in the tournament's history.
• The Backhand Shelf's Justin Bourne uses the Philadelphia Flyers and New Jersey Devils to teach us how to properly defend a 3-on-2 with a backchecker.
• Scott Reynolds over at Copper 'n' Blue looks at the Florida Panthers in the mid 2000s and their struggle to transition from a rebuilding team to a contending team. It's a cautionary tale for all the "Chicago model" advocates out there. Reynolds' title says it best: "Success Is Not Inevitable."
• John Fontana over at Raw Charge thinks that Mike Milbury is worse than Don Cherry, citing Grapes' "charisma" as the deal breaker. I'd love to hear what the EOTP community has to say on this matter.

Archives and EOTP News

• Tomas Plekanec is awesome but his performance last season was not. If you want to relive the Plek's nightmare, check out Andrew's 2011-2012 review.