Free Agency: Bruins linked to Trevor Daley

So both the Herald and WEEI have some interesting info regarding a certain defender:

Alright then, what do we know about Trevor Daley?

We do know that Daley has been a decent pickup for the Pittsburgh Penguins as an experienced player working the left side on the blueline, limited by injury. He had garnered 19 points in the 56 regular season games he played in 2016-17, and 5 points in the postseason for the Pens playoff run.

As for his impact possession wise...he definitely fills a roll.

Trevor Daley is the stereotype when it comes to offensive defensemen that aren’t luminary talents like Erik Karlsson or Brent Burns (or Torey Krug), typically spending defensive time trying very hard but also not being very good at suppressing or blocking shots. Where he tends to excel is in shooting, getting the puck out from a pass from a defensive guy with smooth skating...which they just gave up in one Colin Miller to Vegas, for reference.

His last contract was a 3.3 Million a year setup, which is affordable, to be sure...but on a team that has a ton of defensive talent welling up in the system, he’d likely be a temporary option with a reasonable-ish price tag.

And personally, while Daley does have the attractive quality of “being on a team that won two back-to-back Stanley Cups”, it should be noted that success is not transmitted via air, water, nor food. He would likely fit best as the offensive counterpart to Kevan Miller on the final pairing, allowing him to have sufficient minutes and a partner that’s been proven to be able to at least stop pucks and block shots.

Anything else is...not quite what he’s up to. If you’ll recall, the Penguins typically got hemmed in or scored on by whoever they were facing when the Maata-Daley pairing had to be on the ice for extended periods of time. Although in fairness that pairing was created due to injuries decimating the Pittsburgh blueline, so feel free to take that with a grain of salt.

Legitimacy wise, it’s coming from the Herald’s coverer of all things Bruins for almost two decades and it mentions an oddly specific number of teams; a sure fire verify-er of rumors! (unless they aren’t). On top of that, Daley fits a need on defense that, if not filled, could become a real pain in the ass for Boston in the long run as the current blue line setup likes it when an offensive and defensive defenseman play together.

But again, the team is loaded with young guys looking for their shot, and even if Trevor Daley might have had discussions with Don Sweeney? The reality is that he’d be getting paid to take a severely reduced role for what could only be a short stint as a Bruin, and who knows who those 7 other teams happen to be. Maybe they’re contenders with a need for offensive defensemen. Maybe it’s Vegas.

Regardless, there is a need, and it clearly hasn’t gone far enough yet, so Daley is a name that you might want to keep tabs on.

Plausibility: 6.5 out of 10