Daley was drafted by the Dallas Stars in the 2002 NHL Entry Draft, 43rd overall, in the second round from the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds of the Ontario Hockey League. In his final year with the Greyhounds and as captain, Daley found himself the victim of a racial slur by then Coach and General Manager, former NHL goaltender John Vanbiesbrouck. Daley quit the team and upon the resignation of Vanbiesbrouck returned to the team three days later to finish out the 2002–03 season. Daley made his NHL debut with the Stars in the 2003–04 season and established himself as a regular in the 2005–06 season when he played in a career-high 81 games and was named to the Canadian squad for the 2006 World Championships. He played his 500th career NHL game on October 8, 2011, all with the Dallas Stars. On July 10, 2015, Daley and teammate Ryan Garbutt were traded to the Blackhawks in exchange for Patrick Sharp and Stephen Johns. On December 14, 2015, he was traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins in exchange for Rob Scuderi. Daley scored his first goal with the Penguins on December 18, 2015 against the Boston Bruins. Daley was injured on May 20, 2016 and missed the remainder of the 2016 Stanley Cup playoffs, after suffering a broken left ankle in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Final against the Tampa Bay Lightning. Daley won his first Stanley Cup when the Penguins defeated the Sharks in six games in the 2016 Stanley Cup Finals. On February 23, 2017, Daley underwent arthroscopic knee surgery following an injury during a game against the Carolina Hurricanes on February 21. Daley was expected to miss six weeks of play. He returned to the ice to play against the New Jersey Devils on April 6. He won his second straight Stanley Cup on June 11, 2017 when the Pittsburgh Penguins defeated the Nashville Predators. On July 1, 2017, Daley signed a three-year contract with the Detroit Red Wings worth $9.534 million. On December 23, 2018, Daley played in his 1,000th career NHL game, becoming the 330th player in league history to reach the milestone. On June 8, 2020, Daley became an inaugural executive board member the Hockey Diversity Alliance, whose goal is to address intolerance and racism in hockey.
