DALLAS -- Trevor Daley has been a fixture at the blue line for the Dallas Stars since making his NHL debut on Oct. 25, 2003. And on Tuesday night against the reigning Stanley Cup champion Los Angeles Kings, "Dales" will appear in the 700th game of his career.
"When you have a chance to reminisce, it is pretty cool," Daley said after morning skate. "Obviously, I feel pretty honored and fortunate to be with this organization for this long. To play that many games is pretty cool, too. I feel very fortunate and try not to take it for granted."
Daley has played for four different coaches (Dave Tippett, Marc Crawford, Glen Gulutzan and Lindy Ruff) during his long and productive run in Big D.
And even though Ruff has only coached him for just over a year, the longtime NHL head coach has developed a rather quick appreciation for what Daley brings to the Stars on both ends of the ice.
"I love the way he skates. I love when he gets up ice," Ruff said. "Plays the big minutes for us. He plays against top lines and he's involved in the offense. He's involved on both sides of special teams. I think at the start of the season and end of last year, he really became the player that we thought he could become. He's put a lot of work in. He likes the way he's playing. I like the way he's playing. I think his compete level is good and he's a big part of this team."
But Ruff wasn't the only head coach involved in Tuesday's game to heap some serious praise on Daley's shoulders.
Kings head coach Darryl Sutter, who was guided LA to a pair of Stanley Cups, has seen "Dales" skate over the years with his teams facing the Stars and Sutter too is quite impressed with what sort of solid defenseman Daley has been during his long run in the NHL.
"A real solid, steady guy, really good competitor who plays against top guys, plays in a lot situations. He's having some offensive success this year," Sutter said.
Not only has Daley helped solidify the Stars at the blue line again this year, a role he's held quite well over the years despite a seemingly rotating cast of fellow d-men, but so far this season, he has also been contributing on the offensive end, which has been a nice way to start the year.
"I love it," Daley said. "It was the game I was drafted to play. It is a fun game. At the time, in order for me to play the game, I had to work on the defensive side of it. At that time, it was the right time, and this time, it is the right time."
