Penguins D Trevor Daley not ruling self out for Stanley Cup finals

PITTSBURGH --Trevor Daley was deemed gone for the season by the Pittsburgh Penguinsin the last round when he suffered a broken left ankle, but the top-four defenseman refuses to totally rule himself out.

Asked Sunday during media day on the eve of the Stanley Cup finals if it was 100 percent that he was out the season, Daley smiled.

"I don't know," he said. "Possibly. I'm not going to rule myself out though. Maybe they will."

Still, the veteran blueliner, who had been so effective for the Penguins after his December trade from Chicago, said the odds of him returning were "not very good."

"I think they said anywhere from four to eight weeks," Daley said of his original prognosis. "I'm going to give myself a chance. Why not, right?"

Daley was injured May 20 in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference finals against Tampa Bay. His loss is huge -- Daley was second on the Penguins in ice time in the playoffs at 22:08 minutes per game.

Reaching his first career Stanley Cup finals only to be watching instead of playing is a tough pill for Daley to swallow.

"The situation is what it is. It's out of my hands," Daley said. "I'm just going to be as positive as can be about it for recovery time and getting back as soon as I can. And you know, try to be as big as a cheerleader as I can for the boys."