Center Sam Steel, the No. 30 pick of the 2016 NHL Draft, seems to be a lock to make his NHL debut with the Ducks when they open their season against the San Jose Sharks at SAP Center on Oct. 3 (10:30 p.m. ET; NBCSN). Right wings Troy Terry and Kiefer Sherwood each appear to be in the running for a lineup spot after Perry had surgery Wednesday to repair injuries to the medial collateral ligament and meniscus in his right knee.
"We have some young players that are auditioning for that position, and we'll see how that goes," Ducks coach Randy Carlyle said after a 7-4 preseason win against the Los Angeles Kings at Honda Center.
Based on where each played against the Kings, it seems Terry is the front-runner to take Perry's place in the lineup.
The 21-year-old skated on the top line with Ryan Getzlaf and Rickard Rakell, and he had one shot on goal in 15:30, including 3:38 on the power play. Selected by Anaheim in the fifth round (No. 148) of the 2015 NHL Draft, Terry played for the United States at the 2018 PyeongChang Olympics and had five assists, including three in a 5-1 win against Slovakia that got the U.S. into the quarterfinals.
Perry was injured in warmups before the preseason game against the Arizona Coyotes on Monday. The 33-year-old was third on the Ducks last season with 49 points (17 goals, 32 assists) in 71 games. He's second in Anaheim history in goals (366) and games (957) behind Teemu Selanne (457 goals, 966 games), and third in assists (400) and points (766).
"It's a big blow to our club. You feel for Corey, first and foremost," defenseman Cam Fowler said. "You don't really think so much about the team. Just hard news for him and his family. Unfortunately, it's part of the business and we have to be able to move on.
"We have a lot of young guys making a big impact on this preseason. They are hard shoes to fill -- he's a great player -- but we have some young guys who are ready to make an impact, and that's encouraging."
In addition to Perry, the Ducks are expected to be without forwards Ryan Kesler (hip) and Patrick Eaves (shoulder) for opening night. Forward Nick Ritchie remains one of two unsigned restricted free agents in the NHL.
Sherwood played on a line with Steel and Andrew Cogliano against the Kings. He was minus-2 with four hits in 13:51. The 23-year-old signed with the Ducks as an undrafted free agent in March after three seasons at Miami University (Ohio), where he had 86 points (34 goals, 52 assists) in 106 games.
"We have some offensive players that we feel are close, but the NHL is a difficult league to transition into," Carlyle said. "Without playing in the American Hockey League, it's much more difficult, but there are more players who are doing it. The young player coming into the League with the speed factor and the ability to get up and down the ice, that's what we're going to rely on."
Perry also could be replaced by Brian Gibbons, who had an assist while playing on the fourth line against Los Angeles. The 30-year-old signed with the Ducks as a free agent July 2 after he had NHL career highs in goals (12), assists (14) and points (26) in 59 games with the New Jersey Devils last season.
