Lost among a disappointing start to the Dallas Stars‘ season is Trevor Daley’s solid offensive campaign.
He has taken a good amount of criticism for his defensive play, playing in big defensive minutes at times as the Stars try to figure out their defensive pairings. A lot of it has been earned, some of it has not.
But what is often discounted because of those defensive lapses is the fact that he is on pace for a career year in the offensive categories.
His best season in points saw him earn 27 points back in 2010-2011 (8 G, 19 A). His best season in goals was last year, with a grand total of nine.
He’s scored eight goals so far this season, and already has 17 points on the year in just 34 games. That puts him on pace for 41 points total and 19 goals.
He’s also already beat his career year in power play goals, when he scored his fifth power play goal tonight on quite the individual effort. This moves him into a three way tie for the lead in power play goals scored by defensemen in the NHL.