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Trevor Daley

East Notes: Zaitsev, Canadiens, Shesterkin, Sabres, Daley

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The Senators will be without defenseman Nikita Zaitsev longer than expected as Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch relays (Twitter link) that the veteran hasn’t resumed skating and will likely be out through the end of the month.  Originally, it was expected that he’d miss between three and five weeks due to his heel injury but that will now likely be pushed to six weeks or longer.  The 30-year-old had gotten off to a quiet start to his season with just two points in 22 games while logging 18:32 per night, the lowest ATOI of his career.

More from the Eastern Conference:

  • As a result of seven more players entering COVID protocols in recent days, the Canadiens announced that they are extending their pause for two more days through Saturday. Montreal recently had a game next week against New Jersey postponed and now have nine games that need to be rescheduled.  They’re next scheduled to play on Wednesday against Boston.
  • Still with Montreal, defensive prospect Arber Xhekaj was traded in the OHL as the Hamilton Bulldogs announced his acquisition in exchange for five draft picks along with winger Navrin Mutter. Xhekaj was undrafted in both the OHL and NHL but turned a rookie camp tryout into an entry-level contract with the Canadiens late in the preseason.  Meanwhile, Mutter got into three games with Calgary’s farm team in Stockton last season but no team holds his NHL rights.
  • Rangers goaltender Igor Shesterkin was a late scratch for their game against Vegas as the Rangers announced (Twitter link) that the netminder was placed into COVID protocol. Assuming it’s for a confirmed positive test, he’ll be out for at least the next five days.  Keith Kinkaid was recalled from the taxi squad in a corresponding roster move.
  • The Sabres got some good news on the COVID protocol front today as the team announced (Twitter link) prior to their game against San Jose that centers Dylan Cozens, Zemgus Girgensons, and Mark Jankowski were all cleared to return. The trio last played on December 17th and each missed three games.
  • While the Florida Everblades of the ECHL raised some eyebrows today when they announced the signing of Penguins staffer Trevor Daley, Seth Rorabaugh of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review notes (Twitter link) that Daley will remain in his advisory role with Pittsburgh. With ECHL teams ravaged by COVID-19, injuries and recalls, it appears the Everblades are going to use Daley for a game or two until they get some of their players back.  Daley last played back in the 2019-20 season with Detroit.

Trevor Daley Retires, Joins Pittsburgh Penguins Front Office

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After the Pittsburgh Penguins announced they had relieved AGM Jason Karmanos earlier today, they now have brought in a new (though familiar) face to the front office. Trevor Daley, who won the Stanley Cup with the team in both 2016 and 2017, has decided to retire and join the organization as a hockey operations advisor. Daley had played the last three seasons with the Detroit Red Wings, but will now hang up his skates and put on a suit. Penguins GM Jim Rutherford released a statement on the hire:

First, I would like to congratulate Trevor on an incredibly successful 16-year career. In addition to being a Stanley Cup Champion with us, he left us with a great impression due to his professional demeanor and quiet leadership qualities. Those traits, along with his desire to want to learn about the business side of the NHL, made him a great candidate to join our staff.

Daley, 37, played more than 1,100 games in the NHL, suiting up for the Dallas Stars, Chicago Blackhawks, Penguins, and Red Wings. A smooth-skating defenseman that could contribute at both ends of the rink, he racked up 309 points in 1,058 regular season contests including a career-high 38 in the 2014-15 season. After winning his second title with Pittsburgh in 2017 he signed a three-year, $9.5MM contract with the Red Wings, but dealt with several injuries and ended up playing in just 164 games with the team.

With the Penguins, Daley will assist with player evaluations and serve as an “eye in the sky” for the coaching staff during games. While this is just the beginning of his post-playing career, it does provide the Penguins with another set of hands in what had recently become quite a thin front office.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Red Wings Will Not Re-Sign Jonathan Ericsson Or Trevor Daley

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The Detroit blue line will have a very different look next season. After acquiring Marc Staal from the New York Rangers yesterday, Red Wings GM Steve Yzerman spoke with the media, including MLive’s Ansar Khan, and stated that veteran defensemen Jonathan Ericsson and Trevor Daley will not return to the team next season. The pair are both unrestricted free agents and will have to test the market if they hope to extend their careers.

Detroit’s decision to cut ties with Ericsson and Daley should not come as a shock; both blue liners saw their roles greatly reduced this season. Ericsson, a career Red Wing, was buried in the AHL for much of the year, skating in just 18 games with Detroit. In those limited appearances, he posted a career-low zero points and 14:15 average time on ice. While Daley spent the whole year in Detroit, he didn’t fare much better than Ericsson. Daley recorded seven points in 43 games, failing to score a goal for the first time in his career, and a career-worst -22 rating and 15:19 average time on ice. The Red Wings had 14 different defensemen suit up this season, nine of whom are under contract or team control next season, and just added Staal and still might not be done. The team had no reason to hold on to either struggling veteran.

The question is whether Ericsson and Daley will be able to continue their NHL careers, if they even desire to do so. The 36-year-old duo each had arguably their worst season in 2019-20 and may simply be out of gas. Given the tight finances facing most NHL clubs, no team is going to commit a meaningful amount to an aging defender who brings little upside. If either one wants to extend their career, they will likely have to settle for a minimum contract. Even at that price point, the market could be limited for the former Red Wings. Daley stands a slightly better chance than Ericsson at finding employment, but there is a strong chance that we have seen the last of both blue liners in the NHL.

Trevor Daley Hoping To Be Traded

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To say that this season has not gone well for Red Wings defenseman Trevor Daley would be an understatement.  He has missed considerable time with multiple injuries and when he has been in the lineup, he hasn’t been the productive player he has been in the past.  However, as a veteran with a pair of Stanley Cup rings under his belt, there could be a team or two interested in his services.  He is certainly hoping so as NBC Sports’ Pierre McGuire reported in an appearance on TSN 1200 (audio link) that Daley has spoken to Detroit GM Steve Yzerman about his willingness to be dealt by next month’s trade deadline.

The 36-year-old has played in just 26 games this season, recording only four assists along with a -16 plus/minus rating.  He’s also averaging just 16:11 per night of ice time, more than four minutes per game below his career average and his lowest ATOI since his rookie season back in 2003-04.  However, he’s still a decent skater and teams are typically looking for veteran defensive depth at this time of year so they may be willing to overlook the struggles if the asking price is low enough.

One possible challenge here will be his contract.  Daley, a pending unrestricted free agent, carries a $3.167MM cap hit.  Detroit would almost certainly have to pay down the maximum 50% of that to facilitate a deal; they’ve yet to use any of their three retention slots this season.  But even at a price tag of a pro-rated $1.583MM, that might be too high for some cap-strapped teams.  It’s worth noting that Daley has a 15-team no-trade clause but given his desire to be moved, it’s unlikely that it will come into play.

Daley is one of four pending unrestricted free agents that Detroit has on their back end, joining Mike Green, Jonathan Ericsson, and Alex Biega.  None are likely to be part of their future plans so it’s quite possible that their defense corps will look a lot different than it does now when the deadline comes and goes on February 24th.

Atlantic Notes: Red Wings, DeMelo, Clifton, Kovalchuk

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Heading into the season, it looked as if veteran defensemen Mike Green and Trevor Daley were going to be two of Detroit’s better trade chips heading towards the trade deadline.  However, as MLive’s Ansar Khan points out, both veterans have struggled mightily this season.  Green hasn’t provided the Red Wings with the offense he once did while Daley has dealt with three separate injuries and hasn’t done much when he has been healthy.  They’re Detroit’s top-paid defensemen (Green at $5.375MM and Daley at $3.167MM) and at this point, they may have to pay down a good chunk of the rest of their deals to find a taker.  They can cover up to half of the contract and have not used any of their three retained salary slots yet.

Elsewhere in the Atlantic:

  • Senators defenseman Dylan DeMelo is aiming to return to the lineup on Tuesday from his broken finger, notes Postmedia’s Ken Warren (Twitter link). He sustained the injury back on December 13th against Montreal.  The 26-year-old is in the final year of his contract and could be a potential trade candidate in the coming weeks for a team looking for defensive depth assuming that he’s able to return and stay healthy between now and then.
  • The Bruins have transferred defenseman Connor Clifton to injured reserve, reports Matt Porter of the Boston Globe (Twitter link). The move opens up a roster spot which will be filled by Steven Kampfer who is back with the team per the AHL’s Transactions page.  Kampfer had only been sent to Providence on Friday.
  • While the Canadiens expect Ilya Kovalchuk to arrive in town today, GM Marc Bergevin told reporters including Stu Cowan of the Montreal Gazette that it’s not likely that he’ll be available to play tonight against Pittsburgh as they’re in the process of getting him a work visa. Even though he hasn’t played in nearly two months, it doesn’t sound as if he’ll get a conditioning stint to get back into playing shape and will instead debut with Montreal as soon as the paperwork clears.

Injury Updates: Sutter, Daley, Johnson, Myers

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Canucks center Brandon Sutter has been out of the lineup since suffering a lower-body injury back on November 12th but it appears that he’s ready to return.  The team announced (Twitter link) that the veteran could be in uniform tomorrow night against Toronto.

That means that Vancouver is going to have to do some cap juggling in order to activate Sutter off LTIR.  The team has less than $3MM in cap room to work with per CapFriendly and Sutter’s AAV checks in at $4.375MM.  Tyler Motte ($975K) is eligible to be transferred to LTIR as he has already missed a month but that still won’t be enough to activate him.  The Canucks are carrying seven defensemen at the moment and may be forced to drop that to six by sending Jalen Chatfield back to AHL Utica.  If Sutter is cleared to play, expect some roster movement from Vancouver in a hurry.

Other injury notes from around the NHL:

  • Detroit defenseman Trevor Daley could return to the lineup tomorrow after missing 16 straight games due to a lower-body issue, notes Arthur J. Regner of the Red Wings’ team website. He has received the green light to return from team doctors so now it’s a matter of seeing if he needs extra practices before seeing game action.  On the surface, it appears that the team is expecting him to play with the placement of Madison Bowey on waivers today will be the roster spot that’s used to activate Daley off IR.
  • Lightning center Tyler Johnson is day-to-day with a lower-body issue, the team announced (via Twitter). Head coach Jon Cooper indicated that there’s no timetable for his return and that he will not play on Tuesday.  The 29-year-old is off to a relatively quiet start offensively with 14 points in 27 games, the lowest full-season point-per-game rate of his career.
  • Travis Konecny isn’t the only injury the Flyers are dealing with today. Sam Carchidi of the Philadelphia Inquirer and Daily News reports that defenseman Phillipe Myers left practice early today due to back spasms that have been an issue in recent days.  That leaves his availability for Wednesday against Colorado in question.  Myers has very quietly been a surprising factor offensively on Philadelphia’s back end as he has chipped in with nine points in just 17 games this season.

Trevor Daley Placed On Injured Reserve

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The Detroit Red Wings have placed Trevor Daley on injured reserve once again, retroactive to November 2nd when he last suited up for the team. In his place comes Dylan McIlrath who has been recalled for the first time this season.

The 10th-overall pick in 2010, McIlrath never did become the physical, shutdown defender the New York Rangers had envisioned. In fact, the 27-year old has played just 50 games in the NHL over his long professional career, spending much more time in the minor leagues for three different organizations.

McIlrath did however play seven games for the Red Wings last season, and has been a staple on the Grand Rapids Griffins blueline for several seasons now. The 6’4″ defenseman was actually re-signed to a two-year, two-way contract in May and cleared waivers before the beginning of the season.

For Daley, this is a relatively quick return to the injured reserve list after spending some time there earlier this season. He was only activated on October 15th and has 11 games under his belt, with no points yet to show. In fact, Daley is averaging fewer than 15 minutes a game this year, by far the lowest amount of his career. The 36-year old is nearing the end of a very productive career, and will need to find some modicum of health to even play a full-time role on the rebuilding Red Wings.

Detroit Red Wings Activate Frans Nielsen, Trevor Daley

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The Detroit Red Wings are getting some of their veterans back today, as they have activated both Frans Nielsen and Trevor Daley from injured reserve. To make room, the team sent Evgeny Svechnikov to the AHL’s Grand Rapids Griffins.

Detroit is actually off to a nice 3-2 start so far this season on the backs of their young forward core, but will get some much needed help as they continue to try and surprise the Atlantic Division and earn a playoff spot. Even now at 35 years old, Nielsen can still lengthen out the forward group and add some secondary scoring for the group.

Daley too is nearing the end of his career, but will be an interesting player to keep an eye on at the trade deadline if he can stay healthy. He has just a 15-team no-trade clause and is making just $2.2MM in actual salary this season ($3.166MM cap hit). His playoff experience, which includes two Stanley Cups with the Pittsburgh Penguins, will be considered valuable if he can still log a few minutes on the back end.

Snapshots: Kovalchuk, Red Wings, Fast

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It has not been a great return to the NHL for Kings winger Ilya Kovalchuk.  While he got off to a good start, his playing time has steadily decreased as of late to the point where he has spent some time as a healthy scratch (and is expected to sit again tonight).  In an interview with Curtis Zupke of the Los Angeles Times, he commented on his frustration with his situation, even suggesting that he hasn’t been given a fair chance under interim coach Willie Desjardins.

Despite the difficulties he has had this season, Kovalchuk was quick to point out that he likes it in Los Angeles and that his family has settled in nicely, implying he has no intention of asking for a trade.  To be fair, even if he wanted to be moved, the Kings would likely have some challenges doing so considering he has just 31 points on the season and two years at $6.25MM left on his deal.  Instead, it appears the hope will have to be that the 35-year-old will be able to rebound next season, potentially with a new coach behind the bench.

Elsewhere around the league:

  • Detroit’s challenges with fielding a complete back end continue. Dana Wakiji of the Red Wings’ team site notes that Jonathan Ericsson has been ruled out of tonight’s game which will be his fifth straight game missed due to a lower-body injury while Trevor Daley has essentially been ruled out for the year.  Meanwhile, Libor Sulak, who was recently recalled under emergency conditions, is sick and isn’t expected to suit up against Vegas either.  There could be some good news on the horizon up front though as winger Evgeny Svechnikov, who has missed the entire season with a torn ACL, is skating with the team and is hoping to return where he’d likely suit up with their AHL affiliate in Grand Rapids.
  • The Rangers are leaning towards shutting winger Jesper Fast down for the remainder of the season, reports Larry Brooks of the New York Post. He has been playing through a shoulder issue for the past three months before the team gave him a night off earlier this week against Detroit.  With New York squarely out of the postseason picture, it wouldn’t make sense for them to keep running him out there when he’s not fully healthy.  The 27-year-old is already signed for next season with a $1.85MM cap hit.

Injury Updates: Green, Daley, Letang, Kings

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It has been a rough year for Red Wings defenseman Mike Green.  He missed the first three weeks of the season with a virus that was attacking his liver while also missing 13 games due to a lower-body injury.  Unfortunately for Green, the virus is back which will cause him to miss the next seven-to-ten days, the team announced.  Despite missing 22 games already, Green still leads Detroit in scoring from a defenseman with 26 points in 43 contests.

The Red Wings won’t need to make a corresponding roster move to take Green’s place, however, as veteran blueliner Trevor Daley will suit up tonight against Colorado after missing the last two games with an upper-body injury.  He has also had issues staying healthy this season and has only suited up in 38 of their 65 contests.

Other injury notes from around the league:

  • Penguins defenseman Kris Letang skated with teammates for the first time since suffering an upper-body injury just over a week ago, reports Jonathan Bombulie of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. However, there remains no firm timetable for his return.  Pittsburgh could certainly use their number one blueliner as they remain in a dogfight for a playoff spot in the tight Eastern Conference.  Fortunately for them, they got one defender back tonight as Brian Dumoulin returned after missing the past three games with a concussion.
  • The Kings are expected to have defenseman Alec Martinez available tonight against Montreal, notes Jon Rosen of LA Kings Insider. He has been out for nearly three weeks due to an upper-body injury.  Meanwhile, winger Austin Wagner is still listed as day-to-day but he’s unlikely to suit up on their current homestand which wraps up on Thursday night.

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