from Pierre LeBrun of ESPN,

After years of being such a workhorse for the Dallas Stars, being relegated to a bit player with the Chicago Blackhawks no question took its mental toll on Trevor Daley this season.

"You went from a situation in Dallas where you were getting a lot of minutes and playing in those situations to suddenly not getting them [in Chicago], and for me to say I didn't lose confidence? I lost a lot of confidence," the 32-year-old defenseman said this week over the phone from Pittsburgh, where he has rediscovered that confidence.

The Dec. 14 trade from the Blackhawks to the Penguins in exchange for Rob Scuderi was an absolute godsend for Daley, his old self rediscovered in a Penguins uniform. He's playing a ton, fourth on the team in minutes per game, he's playing in all situations, and his natural skating ability and puck-moving skills have come to the forefront on a surging Penguins team overall looking a lot faster under head coach Mike Sullivan.

"I have always liked Daley," said one rival Eastern Conference GM via text message. "Good skater, more a secondary power-play player. Might lack a little vision but uses his skating to generate offense. Looks like a good fit in Pittsburgh -- exactly what they needed."

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