Anaheim Ducks general manager Bob Murray announced Wednesday that sniper Corey Perry needed surgery on his meniscus and MCL and will be out of action for about 20 weeks.

The loss is a brutal blow to the Ducks, whose Stanley Cup window is closing rapidly with core players entering their mid-30s. Forward Ryan Kesler has been hampered by hip injuries over the last two seasons and is hoping to be ready for the start of the season, but he's not reliable to stay healthy anymore.

Perry has stayed remarkably healthy throughout most of his career, suiting up for all 82 games in a season five times. He did miss 11 games last season, though, and scored just 17 goals and 49 points. It was the first time in 11 years in which Perry hadn't scored at least 50 points in an 82-game season.

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Credit: John Hefti-USA TODAY Sports

With Perry bound to miss serious time in 2018-19, it's going to mark the third straight year in which he didn't score at least 20 goals. Perry had scored 30-plus in each of the last five 82-game regular seasons, including a league-leading 50 in 2010-11.

The Ducks were swept by the San Jose Sharks in the opening round of the playoffs last year, as their lack of depth and inferior speed was widely exposed. Anaheim has been too reliant on the likes of Perry, Kesler and Ryan Getzlaf. They're 33, 34 and 33 years of age, respectively.

The pressure falls on the likes of Getzlaf, Jakob Silfverberg, Adam Henrique and Rickard Rackell to carry the offense moving forward. Murray only has so much cap space and limited trade assets to make a big move for a player that can replace Perry. As such, the Ducks simply need the offense to come from within.

If Anaheim can hang around in the playoff race up until February, Perry should provide the much-needed boost to get them in. But a bad start could mean that Perry's return winds up being too little, too late.

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