ANAHEIM – Hit a home run or take a hometown discount.

Matt Beleskey will eventually have a decision to make and his career season with the Ducks will surely have some factor in determining how big a pot of gold he is willing to go after and cash in on his status as a potential unrestricted free agent.

The more Beleskey adds to his goal total – which he did with his 17th on Sunday night against Nashville – the more the price could go up to retain the versatile winger with the new-found scoring touch.

What is going for the Ducks is that Beleskey is clear about what his preference is when it comes to the future.

“You do think about the future,” Beleskey said. “I want nothing more than to stay in Anaheim. I’ve never been anywhere else and I don’t think there’s a reason to go anywhere else.

This is where I’d like to be. Hopefully we’ll see what happens.”

Some work is being done on that front. Beleskey’s agent, Murray Kuntz, said the two sides have begun preliminary discussions on a contract extension. “Hopefully we can find a deal that makes sense for both the Ducks and for Matt,” Kuntz told the Register.

Beleskey, 26, is making $1.4 million this season on an expiring deal and is easily in line for a raise. Just how big of a raise will be what the Ducks and his agent will haggle over. Ducks GM Bob Murray would not comment on their negotiations.

Riding his impressive season out could increase his value in a summer free-agent market that’s looking thin on young, scoring wingers who’ll have full control over their rights. That is one path to take but Beleskey has his priorities.

“It comes down to your comfortability and the way you feel,” Beleskey said. “Where you want to be? I don’t know, I’ve never been a free agent. I’ve never been on another team.

“It’s something you think about but I don’t think the grass is greener anywhere else than here in Southern California with the Ducks.”

The Ducks will have to internally figure out Beleskey’s value to them in dollars and fit. And that annual number will surely top $2 million and possibly touch the $2.5-to-3 million range. Consider that Pat Maroon was re-signed to a three-year, $6-million deal in August.

Is Beleskey’s run toward a potential 25-goal season a one-off for a seven-year veteran known mostly as a rugged grinder until this season? Is this the start of something bigger for a power forward who’s tapped into his potential as a goal scorer and finisher?

Ducks winger Kyle Palmieri said his linemate has always had “a phenomenal shot, great release and a nose for those dirty areas.” The difference this season, Palmieri said, is Beleskey is now willing to use his skill more and score from areas other than one-timers and garbage goals in front.

“It comes with confidence,” Palmieri said. “He was kind of in the same spot as me last year where you’re kind of in and out of the lineup and having trouble with the confidence as far as that goes.

“But he’s playing so well this year and he’s getting so many opportunities to score. It’s one of those things where even if you take one and miss one, you know you’re going to get another chance.”

It isn’t known what the Ducks think but they still have Emerson Etem, an offensive-minded left wing full of unrealized potential. Etem can be a restricted free agent but also potentially re-signed at a much lower amount that Beleskey will command.

But they also know Beleskey can play in the top six or the bottom six, having freely employed him in both over the years. Beleskey said that he has to make the best decision for himself and his family. He’ll leave the work to Kuntz and make an entrance when the talks get serious.

“The way my agent and I have worked before is I say, ‘You do all the talking. I don’t need to hear it all until you think there’s something we should really look at.’,” Beleskey said. “And then we go from there.

“If everything is right, there’s not really a question. I really want to stay here. This is where I want to be. I guess we’ll see.”