It’s hard to believe that the Peterborough, Ontario native had his historic season over 15 years ago. Not only did he win the Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophy for scoring the most goals that year. He also won the Hart Memorial Trophy, which is awarded to the player deemed most valuable to his team during a given campaign. Perry was the first Duck to win the Hart, and to this point, the only. He is also the only Duck to win two different major individual NHL awards in the same season. As well, he is only the second Duck to win the Rocket, which was previously achieved by Teemu Selanne in 1999.
Eleven years ago yesterday (June 22, 2011), this guy became the first player in Ducks history to win the Hart Memorial Trophy, and he also took home the Rocket Richard, at the NHL Awards in Vegas.#TBT presented by @UCIrvineHealth pic.twitter.com/vglcO22yDB
— Anaheim Ducks (@AnaheimDucks) June 23, 2022
Slow start, quick turnaround
Although it was a banner year for Perry, his start to the season was a relatively slow one in the goal department. He went pointless in the opening road trip of the season. However, he did follow that up with three straight games having a goal, and started to heat up. He finished the month of October with five goals and seven assists in 12 games.
In November, he scored six goals and eight assists in 14 games. December brought continued success and Christmas came early, as Pears scored his first hat trick of the season on December 12th versus the Minnesota Wild at Honda Center. He went into the new year with an impressive 20 goals and a total of 43 points.
He added five goals and eight points in January. Then went on to score his second hat trick of the year against the Colorado Avalanche, scoring every goal in the 3-0 victory over the conference foes. From February 25 through March 6, Perry had his longest dry spell, recording on one helper in the five-game stretch.
An unstoppable force
The rest of March, he was a man possessed. Scoring two goals each in six different contests. The penultimate month of the regular season saw him earn a whopping 15 goals and six assists.
On April 6, 2011, Corey Perry scored goals 48, 49 and 50. He did this against a major rival, which was very fitting for such an achievement. The Ducks won their second to last home game of the campaign against the San Jose Sharks 6-2. Only one of the many great games in a fierce rivalry.
Perry finished the 2010-11 season with 50 goals and 48 assists, for 98 points. The highest point total for a Duck since 1998-99 when the dynamic duo of Selanne and Paul Kariya combined for an incredible 208 points. (107 and 101) Perry’s nearly hundred points were good for 3rd in the league that year, behind only Daniel Sedin of the Vancouver Canuck and Martin St Louis of the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Unfortunately, following such an amazing season for Perry and for Anaheim, their postseason was short-lived. They lost in six games to the Nashville Predators. However, it was not for lack of effort on Perry’s part as he recorded a solid 2 goals and 6 assists in the series.
Final Thoughts
Corey Perry made history with his Hart Trophy and Rocket Richard Trophy winning season. The only Ducks player to this point to win multiple awards in a single season. Being only one of four players to break the 90-point mark. (Selanne, Kariya and Ryan Getzlaf) I am biased, being that my all-time favorite player is Corey Perry, but he should be in the Hockey Hall of Fame when all is said and done, as well as having his number 10 retired.
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