DALLAS _ In the Hangar on the north side of the American Airlines Center, Corey Perry jerseys for sale hang in the back of the room alongside Joe Pavelski's. For a few minutes at a time before the Stars beat the Ducks 2-1 on Thursday night _ Perry's first game against his former team _ it's a lonely place, less popular than the No. 14 and 91 sections of the team store.
Perry is a new addition to the Stars, and a short-term one at that, having signed a one-year contract worth $1.5 million. And during the 13 years he spent in Anaheim, Perry was a villain to Stars fans. He was a pest and a goal-scorer; part agitator, part MVP.
He's now transferred that game to the Stars and got to show his old team that bought out the last two years of his contract over the summer as Dallas picked up their third straight win. Denis Gurianov scored two goals, his first two of the season, and Ben Bishop made 29 saves as the Stars improved to 4-7-1.
After losing five of their first six one-goal games, the Stars have now won two straight 2-1 decisions, beginning with a win over Ottawa on Monday. Dallas can avenge a 4-2 loss to Pittsburgh last week when the Penguins visit the American Airlines Center on Saturday.
"Overall, that's three wins in a row," Stars forward Andrew Cogliano said. "That's all that matters. I think all lines seem like they want to contribute on a nightly basis. Bish is playing really well, our goalies are playing really well and our defense are doing a good job defending when they need to. This is what we needed. With the start we've had, we want to continue to roll."
Perry registered four shots on goal and two hits during his 16:38 of ice time. But as popular as he was in Southern California, Perry's following in Anaheim failed to travel to Texas.
A walk around the concourse before the game and intermission yields just one Stars fan wearing a No. 10 Perry jersey. It can be seen as an odd choice for a Dallas season-ticket holder. Buying a jersey of a player that annoyed you endlessly for more than a decade? Try telling that to Grand Prairie's Cason Pence.
"I'm like 'Look guys, he's going to be a Dallas Star now. That's the deal. Take it or leave it. It's happening, whether you like it or not,' " Pence said. "I've made a lot of friends and a lot of enemies wearing it out here. Every time someone goes 'Ah, how can you wear that?' I'm like 'Why do you hate the Dallas Stars?' He's a Dallas Star now. End of story."
Pence said he bought the jersey right after Perry singed with the Stars on July 1. He wore it to opening night against Boston on Oct. 3. He's a season-ticket holder and the Perry jersey joins a collection that also features John Klingberg, Tyler Seguin, Jamie Benn and Brett Ritchie jerseys.
Other No. 10 jerseys are sprinkled through the concourse (of Patrick Sharp or Brenden Morrow), but no other Perry ones. Swapping black and orange for victory green was enough for Pence to forget Perry's history with the Ducks.
"Oh, hated his guts," Pence said. "He's that pesky agitator that has a strong shooting ability, good net-front presence and I think it's a good call by the team to pick him up, especially on such bargain deal."
For Perry, being a Dallas Star has become the norm. Playing against the Ducks? Well, that's new.
Thursday's matchup with his former team would have been 1,000th career game had a fractured foot had not robbed him of the season's first two weeks. Perry went to dinner with former teammates Wednesday night. He playfully shoved Ondrej Kase during warmup. He wore green instead of orange.
"It was weird, but I got that first shift out of the way and it was just another hockey game," Perry said. "It was fun. There was some back-and-forths out there, some jabs. That's hockey."
Perry said he knew ahead of time that the Ducks would be buying out his contract that carried a cap hit of $8.625 million annually. Anaheim had dinner with his agent, and the franchise that he helped bring a Stanley Cup and won a Hart Trophy with cut him loose.
"No hard feelings. It's a business. You move on. Sometimes change is a good thing, and I'm embracing what I have here. ... That decision (to sign with Dallas) wasn't easy. There were a lot of phone calls, a lot of back and forth with my agent, a lot of talks with my wife, my family. It's a process. Some guys go through it a few times in their career. This is the first time I've ever had to do that."
Stars coach Jim Montgomery said he texted Perry on Wednesday about playing his old team, and offered a preview of what might come against the Ducks, many of whom had become like family over 13 seasons.
"I don't know if Corey has a brother, but if he had a brother, I'm sure he fought with him a lot," Montgomery said.
"I'm sure they know what I'm all about," Perry said.
