Contract extensions being handed out to players that may not land on your radar as a fan don’t usually draw attention. In the case of Dallas’ Trevor Daley, he’s managed to break the mold. The steady blue liner signed a six-year contract extension with the Stars worth $19.8 million. Daley doesn’t often get noticed, but he’s as close to rock solid as it gets for any defenseman. This season he’s averaged nearly 23 minutes per game and has two goals and nine assists.
What’s most intriguing about this contract extension is that Dallas’ ownership mess is still going on. It’s the same ownership hangup that won’t allow Brad Richards to sign a contract extension with the Stars. For Daley, his contract extension is worth an extra $1 million a year for the next six years on the cap. A million dollars is a relative drop in the bucket, however, compared to what the Stars leading scorer would require to stay in Dallas.
Richards is on the last year of his contract, one with a $7.8 million cap hit. Any extension that he’d get to stay in Dallas would require a similar, if not enhanced, financial commitment. If GM Joe Nieuwendyk wants to spend that kind of money needs approval from the league to spend the cash needed to make it happen. With owner Tom Hicks in the process of ridding himself of the team and selling to anyone who wants in, it’s unlikely that approval would be given for such a huge deal with a potential owner waiting in the wings. Saddling a future owner with such a large contract doesn’t do wonders for selling the franchise.
Daley’s deal, while long, ultimately isn’t a back breaker of a contract. The financial details put it on par with what Niklas Hjalmarsson got from the Chicago Blackhawks over the summer courtesy of the San Jose Sharks and their offer sheet. Still, it’s curious that the Stars got approval for the contract. Is this a sign for the future and that the team will be sold soon? We shall see.