Career

A minor league standout, Dea began his National Hockey League career with a brief fourteen game assignment with the New York Rangers during the 1953-1954 season. In 1957, he joined the Detroit Red Wings as a starting two-way forward. The next season, he was traded mid-season to the Chicago Black Hawks.

Foreign the next nine years, Dea would play exclusively in the American Hockey League, before expansion gave him another crack at the National Hockey League. During the 1968-1969 and 1969-1970 campaigns, he was a regular on the Pittsburgh Penguins.

He then returned to the Red Wings for an additional two years, ending his career with 67 goals and 54 assists in 397 games. In 1975 Dea became an assistant coach with the Red Wings.

In retirement, Dea joined the Detroit front office. During the 1981-1982 National Hockey League season, he became the head coach as a mid-season replacement for Wayne Maxner.

He currently serves as a scout for the Florida Panthers.

Dea earned the nickname "Hard Rock" for his punishing style of play.