When free agency kicks off at noon on Saturday for the NHL, it may not take the Red Wings long to land their desired target. According to multiple sources, the Red Wings are expected to finalize a deal with veteran defenseman Trevor Daley.



NHL teams can’t officially sign players until noon, so nothing is in stone until it’s official but all signs point to the Red Wings and Daley getting it done.



Daley fits exactly what the Red Wings need on defense but the key here will be the length of the contract. The ideal would be two years, but in the open market that wouldn’t be enough to land an offensive defenseman coming off a Stanley Cup. The Daley deal, once finalized, will be a multi-year deal and more than two years.



“Term, cap and everything else is what it boils down to,” said one NHL source. “If they’re smart, they’ll front-load the deal so if they have to buy him out, it won’t cost them...