Are those guys fighting for roster spots?
It isn't that I adore Cleary. It is that a locker room full of young "Talent" with no veteran role player presence gets you Edmonton. I am not all excited about the Cleary signing but I am not calling for heads to roll over it. He will play a few games and provide some leadership for our kids. No big deal.
First of all, what? Second of all, you should be ashamed of your Edmonton comparison. Detroit is still a veteran team. Datsyuk, Zetterberg, Kronwall, Ericsson, and hopefully Alfie are all in that lockerroom. Helm, Abdelkader, and Miller are all veterans. Weiss is a guy who wore an "A" in Florida.
Without Cleary:
Helm-Datsyuk-Zetterberg
Nyquist-Weiss-Franzen
Jurco-Sheahan-Tatar
Miller-Glendening-Abdelkader
Andersson
And that's not even including Alfie who could still very well end up in the mix.
Now tell me where we need leadership that only Cleary can provide? Tell me where in that lineup Cleary should even be competing for a spot?
Even if he's just competing for 4th line duty, he's fighting for spots against who? Miller, Abdelkader, Glendening, and Andersson?
Miller and Abdelkader are blue collar veterans now. Glendening is a player that Babcock has called the most competitive player he has ever coached not named Yzerman, Lidstrom, Datsyuk, Zetterberg, Crosby, Toews, or Bergeron.
So where the heck is this lack of leadership you keep talking about?