That's because Babcock is... well whatever. Cleary doesn't work ANYWHERE but the 4th line playing with 2 fast players 6-7 minutes a night. I still want the answer to what Cleary does well. Doesn't play his position properly. Takes penalties. Turns the puck over. Loses battles. He backchecks hard. That's it. Toots can shoot, skate, pass and hit better than Cleary.
I think the difference between Cleary and Tootoo comes down to personal preference.
They each have skills that the other does not.
Cleary has more offensive upside although he hasn't shown much of it the past few years. (better shot, better at screening goalies, and deflecting pucks etc), He's better positioned IMO, slightly better on the forecheck and better in the defensive end. He does take way to many penalties though, and some nights seems to have trouble keeping the puck on his stick and staying upright on his skates.
Tootoo is a much better skater, a more frequent, and a harder hitter. He also provides a physical edge that the wings lack completely. He also often finds himself out of position chasing those big hits, and as others have pointed out those big hits don't usually prevent the opposition from moving the puck. His biggest asset over Cleary IMO though is that his speed tends to draw penalties while Cleary's lack of speed leads to him taking them.
At the end of the day though I think when healthy neither one of them is in the line-up.
