A minor league standout, Dea began his NHL career with a brief fourteen-game assignment with the New York Rangers during the 1953–54 season.

On August 18, 1955, the Rangers traded the NHL rights to Dea and Aggie Kukulowicz to the Detroit Red Wings in exchange for Bronco Horvath and Dave Creighton.

For the next nine years, Dea would play exclusively in the American Hockey League, before expansion gave him another crack at the NHL.

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

During the 1981–82 NHL season, he became the head coach as a mid-season replacement for Wayne Maxner.