The Dallas Stars have struggle on defense this season with the BLANK amount of goals allowed this season. While Trevor Daley may be part of the defensive woes, he makes up for it in offense.

Trevor Daley, long time Star and alternate captain, recently went down for 2-4 weeks with a lower body injury and his absence has had little effect on the defense, either way. But one area Daley has excelled at this season is goal scoring. His offense has been very good for the Stars with 16 goals and 17 assists for 33 points in 61 games. That total places him forth on the team since Erik Cole‘s departure to the Detroit Red Wings. Daley’s +/- of -10 is worst on the team among defenceman, so it seems that his value may be elsewhere. It’s time the Dallas Stars make a change.

The Dallas Stars have a core of young, up-and-coming defenceman who have seen time at the NHL level this season and several veterans ready to guide those players. The Stars can spare Daley as soon as the season is over and I think they should immediately start working with Daley in transitioning him to a forward role.

Daley has speed and has already shown that he is an asset on the offensive end. Couple that with the abundance of young defenceman I mentioned earlier and it seems as if the timing is right to attempt a switch and it’s not all that uncommon. Dustin Byfuglien did it. He played with the Chicago Blackhawks as a left winger, but now is shining as a defencemen with the Winnipeg Jets.

This season the Stars have one of the best offenses in the NHL, currently 3rd in both Goals Per Game and Total goals and moving Daley would allow the Dallas Stars to improve an already talented offense without filling a roster spot, a hit against cap space, or even losing any prospects and picks. The defense, though, has struggled.

This, of course, raises the question “If the defense is bad, wouldn’t the Stars need all the help they can get?” The defense has been deceptive most of the season. The first half or so of the season the defensemen struggled but in-season acquisition Jason Demers and the promotion of John Klingberg has helped to tighten up the blue liners. However, just as the defensemen were improving, the goalies started to decline. Daley wouldn’t help enough to call for being kept on defense.

Trevor Daley has spent his whole career with the Dallas Stars and has demonstrated time and again his commitment to the team and to the game. I am not questioning his abilities or his skills, I just think that Daley has the right tools to be a top 6 forward. It’s time that the Dallas Stars make that happen.