Forced to watch last year’s championship series as a spectator, Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Trevor Daley will now get his chance to play in the Stanley Cup Final.
Last spring, Daley suffered a broken ankle in the Eastern Conference Final, ending his postseason.
He didn’t play in the final, which Pittsburgh captured in six games, but did lift the Stanley Cup, the first player after Sidney Crosby to do so -- a gesture from the Penguins captain to Daley, whose mother was battling cancer and wanted to see her son with hockey’s coveted silver chalice.
A week later, Daley’s mother passed away.
Despite missing time late in the second round and early in the third round because of injury, Daley returned to the Penguins lineup and played the final five games versus the Ottawa Senators. That’s a boost to Pittsburgh’s blue line, which has battled through injuries to key figures during the playoffs and even before with the loss of Kris Letang.
Daley’s wait for this opportunity will soon be over. Game 1 against the Nashville Predators goes Monday.
“It feels like we were just here. To get back here this soon is pretty cool,” said Daley on Sunday. “It sucks to watch. I don’t know how you guys do it.”
It’s a rare feat in the salary cap era for a Stanley Cup-winning team to even make it back to the final the following year. The Detroit Red Wings were the last team to do that, back in 2008 and 2009.
“I think he understands how difficult it is to win the Stanley Cup,” said Penguins coach Mike Sullivan. “So I think he’s one of those guys that doesn’t take it for granted.”
Since his return during the last round, Daley has played 21:39 per game, with a two-point performance in that Game 5 blowout win versus the Senators. What makes Pittsburgh’s run back to the final more impressive is the fact they’ve made it -- and that includes a second-round victory against Presidents’ Trophy-winning Washington -- without a true No. 1 defenseman, a distinction that usually belongs to Letang, except his season came to an end before the playoffs began.
Daley has been hurt during this postseason. So, too, has Justin Schultz. All of the injuries on defense meant greater responsibility for Brian Dumoulin, Olli Maatta, Ron Hainsey and Ian Cole.
Daley has been back for a while now. Schultz returned for Game 7 versus Ottawa and played more than 24 minutes, with a goal and an assist. But with the injuries on defense, the Penguins have redefined the phrase ‘defense by committee.’
Depth on the blue line was an issue general manager Jim Rutherford addressed at the deadline, acquiring the 36-year-old Hainsey.
Despite his age and more than 900 games of regular season experience, Hainsey had never played a Stanley Cup playoff game in his career. At least, not until this spring. He has one goal and five points in 19 playoff games this year. He’s never been known for eye-popping offensive production, but what he has done for the Penguins is provide a reliable presence on defense and quality ice time, averaging more than 21 minutes per game.
It’s been a long time coming, but now, he too will play in the final.
“We all know about it. This is his first time in the playoffs. I was telling him the other day, ‘You’re undefeated. You’ve never lost a series,’” said Daley. “So that’s a pretty good record so far.”