Daley has positive impact on Pens’ power play
The Penguins have been playing without Kris Letang, but even when he was healthy, general manager Jim Rutherford was interested in acquiring another puck-moving defenseman. Someone who could slide in and play in his top four, as well as help quarterback the power play.
Enter Trevor Daley, a smooth skating, offensively gifted rearguard that rolled up 16 goals and 38 points with the Dallas Stars last season.
“We’ve talked about Trevor Daley for a month or so but never to the point where we could make it a good fit,” Rutherford said. “We like Trevor because he can skate, he can move the puck. It’s something that we’ve talked about trying to improve that, improve our back end where we have more puck movers. He can certainly do that.”
Daley wasn’t a fit in Chicago, where he played in 29 games earlier this season, before coming over in exchange for Rob Scuderi.
He averaged just 14:46 minutes per game in Chicago, which didn’t really allow him to show what he could do, specifically on the offensive side of the puck. He also was left out of the power-play mix, something caused by being on a depth chart featuring Brent Seabrook and former Norris Trophy winner Duncan Keith.
“I did ask them if they weren’t going to use me to move me. They were great about it,” Daley said after arriving in town last week. “I have nothing bad to say about my time in Chicago. I met a lot of good people. It’s a great franchise. I wish I could say I hated it and wanted to leave, but I can’t. It’s hard, but I have more to give than they allowed me to do.
“I’m excited for the opportunity to play in Pittsburgh. I’m excited to be a fresh face and help out wherever I can and be a part of a good organization that’s had a lot of success over the years.”
So far, the Penguins have had nothing but good things to say about Daley. He didn’t immediately slide into a high profile role, getting just 18:40 minutes during his first game in Boston on Dec. 16, but since that time he’s been involved in everything.
Over the past three games he has slid onto the top power-play unit and has been skating on the Penguins’ top pair with Olli Maata. He’s logged more than 20 minutes in each of those games but more importantly, he’s helped the Penguins offense.
“It helps when you get the minutes,” Daley said. “You can show what you can do. There’s an opportunity, and I’m going to try to run with it.”
Daley is carrying a personal three-game point streak that has seen him collect one goal and two assists, and that has helped the Penguins score more as a group. The team has rolled up nine goals over that span, including five against the Blue Jackets on Monday night.
That five-goal effort matched a season high and is something that this group can really build on. The Penguins got two goals each from Phil Kessel and Evgeni Malkin, and the group seemed to build an offensive swagger.
“We’ve got some great shooters in here,” Daley said after the victory over Columbus. “We should score a lot. Just maybe needed a little confidence. I think maybe tonight was a step in that direction, and now we just need to keep it going.”
The Penguins are not where they need to be yet, but they are starting to show signs of turning a corner. The Christmas break has popped up at the right time. It will allow guys like Marc-Andre Fleury, Kris Letang and Sidney Crosby some time to recover from injuries that they have been dealing with. Daley was thrilled to end the team’s five-game losing streak ahead of the break and is excited for the prospects of what can happen when they get back to game action.
“I think it’s huge. The big thing is going to be how we respond against Minnesota after the break — get two points — and then get on a bit of a roll. You look at the standings, it time to get into a playoff spot now.”