Perry fractures foot, aims to return for Stars' opener

FRISCO, Texas --Corey Perry's much anticipated debut with the Dallas Stars will have to wait a little longer.
The former All-Star winger will be sidelined at least two weeks after sustaining a small fracture in his foot, general manager Jim Nill announced Friday as the team opened its 2019-20 season with training camp at Comerica Center.

Though disappointed, Perry, who joined the Stars on a one-year deal this summer following 14 seasons with the Anaheim Ducks, expects to be ready for the start of the regular season on Oct. 3 against Boston.
"I tripped on a step and rolled it," the veteran said. "It's a small fracture. It's frustrating that it happened two days before camp. I was getting excited to be around the guys and get on the ice with them.
"It's a setback, but I'll be ready."

Nill said depending on how quickly the bone heals, Perry should be able to resume skating after being reevaluated in two weeks.
"I'm not too concerned. Corey Perry's been around a long time, he's trained hard this summer," Nill said. "He's disappointed. He wants to get out here as much as anybody, but it is what it is. You can't control it. It's happened, and we move on. We'll go from there. But he's in great shape, he already knows the system really well. He's been skating with these players the last two or three weeks anyway, so he's got a good feel for them."
Perry, 34, appeared in only 31 games with Anaheim last season while recovering from knee surgery, scoring six goals and adding four assists. With that injury healed, Stars coach Jim Montgomery said it'll now be about getting Perry healthy for his newest chapter in Dallas.
"For him, it's an unfortunate setback. But he came to camp in great shape and he's going to stay in good shape with (strength and conditioning coach) Brad Jellis and continue to get ready for us," Montgomery said.
"For us, whenever he gets back -- hopefully it's opening night. But if it's not, it's like we're adding a star player when he does come back, so it'll be good energy."

Pavelski excited to be 'getting going' with Stars

For Joe Pavelski, arguably the Stars' biggest splash signing in free agency this offseason on a three-year deal, it was a summer of change as he worked to settle into his new home following 13 years in San Jose.
Now that camp is underway, the fun part begins for the veteran forward.
"It felt pretty normal out there," said Pavelski, who skated Friday with the team's second group that included captain Jamie Benn and defensemen John Klingberg and Esa Lindell.
"It felt fun just to get out there, get skating with the puck and getting up to speed. It's fun to see the puck zipping around and shooting and just kind of going through the whole process."
The Stars will look to Pavelski to add another element to their lineup, both in scoring and leadership. The 34-year-old is coming off a 38-goal season as captain of the Sharks and has reached the 60-point mark in each of his last six seasons.
"Everyone here in the organization has done a tremendous job of welcoming us, and just taking care of a lot of little details to make our life a little easier," Pavelski said. "Now, a lot of it's about hockey and getting going."

Honka requests trade from organization

Following an offseason of speculation surrounding Julius Honka's future with the Stars, Nill said the defenseman has formally requested a trade from the organization and will not be with the team during camp.
Honka, the Stars' first-round pick in 2014, played in 29 games in 2018-19 and was a healthy scratch during the final four months of the regular season.
"He's asked to get traded, so I told his representative we'll see where that goes," Nill said. "I've been talking to teams, and their stance now is Julius just felt it's probably not proper to be here to be a distraction, so I respect that."
Nill said he spoke with Honka's agent on Thursday evening and will work to "do what's right for the organization." The 23-year-old Honka, once regarded as a centerpiece of the Stars' future blueline, has 13 points (two goals, 11 assists) in 87 career NHL games.
"Did we handle him right at times? Yes or no, we don't know. And it's on the player, too," Nill said. "You get an opportunity, you've got to grab it. Sometimes, things don't work out. There's different personalities, but that's sports and that's life.
"Some people fit in, some people don't, and away we go."

Odds and ends

»Nill said defenseman Stephen Johns, who missed all of last season with post-traumatic headaches, will not skate with the Stars during training camp and added that the team will have no further comment for the time being.
"If there's an update, I'll update everybody as soon as I get my information," Nill said. "But other than that, no other questions moving forward. I want the focus on the players here and we've got to go from there."
» Veteran forward Scottie Upshall, in camp on a professional tryout contract,hopes to make the most of his opportunity with the Stars as he attempts to work his way back from a knee injury that cost him the entire 2018-19 season.
Following nine months of recovery from surgery to repair his MCL and PCL, the 35-year-old said the time away helped him reset and restore his hunger to compete for the Stanley Cup.
"I feel great," Upshall said. "Young kids kept up with me today in practice, and it was fun. It's nice to be back out there and competing again."
»Defenseman Jamie Oleksiak, sidelined for the final seven games of the Stars' playoff run last season because of a lower-body injury, said he is ready to go entering the new campaign.

He said it

"When you see your GM make moves like he did in the offseason ... he's given the team the respect of, 'Hey, we've got a good enough team, let's go win this thing.' So, expectations are higher and we're all excited to get things going." -- Stars center Tyler Seguin on Nill adding key pieces in free agency this summer.
This story was not subject to the approval of the National Hockey League or Dallas Stars Hockey Club.
Jeff Odomcovers the Stars for DallasStars.com. Follow him on Twitter @jeffodom.