MLive’s Ansar Khan posted an article about Red Wings defenseman Trevor Daley this morning, discussing Daley’s 2018-19 “outlook”:
2018-19 outlook: Daley is an important part of a defense that often struggles to get the puck out of its zone and commits too many turnovers. He is a terrific skater who moves the puck well, getting it quickly to the forwards.
The left shooter is more comfortable playing on the right side and his ability to transport the puck takes pressure off his defense partner. Daley was slated to be paired with Danny DeKeyser last season, before DeKeyser missed five weeks with an early season ankle injury. Daley spent much of the season paired with Jonathan Ericsson.
The Red Wings signed Daley last summer at a reasonable cap hit, valuing his mobility and experience over younger players such as Joe Hicketts, Robbie Russo and Dylan McIlrath of the Grand Rapids Griffins.
If the Red Wings are out of the playoff picture in late February, they might opt to move Daley, whose no-trade clause expires 10 days before the deadline. He wouldn’t be a rental, having one more year remaining on his deal, so a playoff-caliber club would have him for two postseasons, increasing his value.
Quotable: “Last summer we went out and signed Trevor Daley, thought that if we could get our back end a little bit deeper that we could be more competitive and be in the hunt for a playoff spot. I think Trevor played really well for us. I think he did everything we could have hoped.” – general manager Ken Holland.
Daly definitely made Ericsson a better player. Once Blashill released Daly of some defensive responsibilities after the half way mark of the season and allowing him to pinch in, creating some offensive chances, Ericsson’s numbers did get worse.
I think that shows what a good player Daly really is.
It would nice to see him on a team with a chance of competing for the Cup.