Two years ago a blogger named Corey Sznajder watched over 800 NHL games to track zone exits and entrances and came up with what he calls a “touch”. Which is basically just when a defending player gains control of the puck with the intention of exiting his defensive zone (one of the most important things a defenseman can do in my opinion). And here were the 10 worst defensemen in the NHL at getting “touches” per shot attempt against.
I actually think 2013/2014 was one of Daley’s better years as a pro, I definitely don’t think the Stars would have made the playoffs without him. I also noticed that although he was complete horse excrement at gaining control of pucks, he was very efficient when the puck was finally on his stick (as evidence by that fact that his turnover percentage was an awesomely low 3.8%, one of the best marks in the NHL). So the good definitely balanced out the bad.
My thinking is that in this past year, he was still terrible at getting control of the puck, but unlike in 13/14 when he finally did get the puck, he was more turnover prone. So there wasn’t really any good to balance out the bad and as a result Daley was an absolute dumpster fire in his own end. I think this is why he posted some of the worst defensive stats in the NHL this past year.