Corey Perry joins the rival Lightning on 2-year deal

If you can't beat 'em.

After suffering consecutive losses in the Stanley Cup Final to the Tampa Bay Lightning in his last two seasons with the Dallas Stars and Montreal Canadiens, respectively, Corey Perry is banking on his rival continuing its run of success. According to reports, the veteran winger has reportedly signed a two-year contract in Tampa Bay.

It's unclear how much Perry will earn on the agreement.

Perry is far from the force that earned an MVP award a decade ago, but he's been a key piece on back-to-back Stanley Cup finalists out of a depth and special-teams function. Most recently, he provided high-end scoring contributions from a fourth-line function, scoring nine goals and totalling 21 points in 49 games last season in Montreal.

It was an improvement on his previous season's output, having exceeded his goal total and matching in points, in fewer games.

Perry will have a similar even-strength role, likely forming some sort of partnership with Pat Maroon on a Lightning fourth line, which will likely be anchored by either Mathieu Joseph, Alex Barre-Boulet or the newly-signed Pierre-Edouard Bellemare. It's unlikely that he'll have the same opportunity on special teams given that a spot on the No. 1 power play is presumably out of the question.

On the heels of back-to-back Stanley Cups, Tampa's gravitational pull seems as strong as ever. Despite losing their entire third line through free agency and expansion, the Lightning have attracted veterans Perry, Bellemare, Zach Bogosian and Brian Elliott on modest deals.

The Lightning also re-signed Brayden Point one year in advance of free agency, inking their top center to a maximum-term contract extension that falls in line with the annual incomes of Andrei Vasilevskiy and Nikita Kucherov.

Tampa is already up against the cap with a few restricted free agents to sign, but it appears most of the heavy lifting is done with Perry thrown into the mix.

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