Robert Scott Dailey (May 3, 1953 – September 7, 2016) was a Canadian professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

defenceman Defence or defense (in American English) in ice hockey is a player position that is primarily responsible for preventing the opposing team from Goal (ice hockey), scoring. They are often referred to as defencemen, D, D-men or blueliners (the l ...

who played nine seasons in the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...

(NHL) with the

Vancouver Canucks The Vancouver Canucks are a professional ice hockey team based in Vancouver. The Canucks compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conferenc ...

and

Philadelphia Flyers The Philadelphia Flyers are a professional ice hockey team based in Philadelphia. The Flyers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The team play ...

between 1973 and 1982. He featured in the

1980 Stanley Cup Finals The 1980 Stanley Cup Finals was the championship series of the National Hockey League's (NHL) 1979–80 season, and the culmination of the 1980 Stanley Cup playoffs. It was contested by the New York Islanders in their first-ever Finals appearan ...

with the Flyers.

Playing career

The league's tallest player until the arrival of

Willie Huber Wilhelm Heinrich "Willie" Huber (January 15, 1958 – June 28, 2010) was a professional ice hockey defenceman who played ten seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Detroit Red Wings, New York Rangers, Vancouver Canucks and Philad ...

in 1978, Dailey was a tremendous combination of size and skill on the blueline. He was selected ninth overall by the

in the 1973 NHL Amateur Draft from the

Toronto Marlboros The Toronto Marlborough Athletic Club, commonly known as the Toronto Marlboros, was an ice hockey franchise in Toronto, Canada. Founded in 1903, it operated junior ice hockey and senior ice hockey teams in the Ontario Hockey Association and la ...

, where he had won the

Memorial Cup The Memorial Cup () is the national championship of the Canadian Hockey League (CHL), a consortium of three Junior ice hockey, major junior ice hockey leagues operating in Canada and parts of the United States. It is a four-team round-robin tou ...

as a junior. He immediately stepped into the Canucks roster as one of their top defenders, registering 7 goals and 24 points as a rookie in 1973–74. In 1974–75, Dailey registered 12 goals and 48 points to lead Canuck defenders and was named the club's top blueliner. He had another fine season in 1975–76, notching 15 goals despite missing time to injury. However, the Canucks would deal him to the

midway through the 1976–77 season in exchange for Jack McIlhargey and Larry Goodenough. The deal would prove a lopsided one as McIlhargey and Goodenough were never more than bit players for the Canucks while Dailey would be the Flyers' top defender for the next 5 years. In 1977–78, Dailey emerged as a star for the Flyers. His 21 goals and 57 points would set club records (now broken) for a defender, and he was selected to play in the

NHL All-Star Game The National Hockey League All-Star Game () is an exhibition ice hockey tournament that is traditionally held during the regular season of the National Hockey League (NHL), with many of the League's star players playing against each other. The ga ...

. In 1979–80 he would register 39 points in just 61 games, and then add 17 more points in the playoffs in helping the Flyers reach the

Stanley Cup The Stanley Cup () is the championship trophy awarded annually to the National Hockey League (NHL) playoff champion. It is the oldest existing trophy to be awarded to a professional sports franchise in North America, and the International Ic ...

Finals. In 1980–81 he was again named the Flyers' top defender and was selected to play in his second All-Star Game, but his season was ended prematurely due to a knee injury which required surgery. 12 games into the 1981–82 season, Dailey shattered his ankle catching a rut in the ice in a game in Buffalo. The injury required 3 screws to repair and forced his retirement at the age of 28. He attempted a comeback with the

Hershey Bears The Hershey Bears are a professional ice hockey team based in Hershey, Pennsylvania. The Bears have played in the American Hockey League (AHL) since the 1938–39 season, making it the longest continuously operating member club of the league still ...

of the

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league in North America that serves as the primary developmental league of the National Hockey League (NHL). The league comprises 32 teams, with 26 in the United States and 6 in Cana ...

in 1985, but found he could not compete and retired for good after five games. Dailey finished his career with 94 goals and 231 assists for 325 points in 561 NHL games, along with 814 penalty minutes. Dailey died in Florida on September 7, 2016, after a six-year battle with

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving Cell growth#Disorders, abnormal cell growth with the potential to Invasion (cancer), invade or Metastasis, spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Po ...

Awards and achievements

*1975: Named Vancouver Canucks' top defenceman *1978: Played in NHL All-Star Game *1979: Named Philadelphia Flyers' top defenceman *1981: Played in NHL All-Star Game *1981: Named Philadelphia Flyers' top defenceman

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

References

External links

* * Meltzer, Bill
"Flyers Heroes of the Past: Bob Dailey" at Philadelphiaflyers.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dailey, Bob 1953 births 2016 deaths Canadian ice hockey defencemen Deaths from cancer in Florida Hershey Bears players National Hockey League All-Stars NHL first-round draft picks Philadelphia Flyers players Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in the United States Ice hockey people from Kingston, Ontario Toronto Marlboros players Toronto Toros draft picks Vancouver Canucks draft picks Vancouver Canucks players 20th-century Canadian sportsmen