Confirmed with Link: Daniel Cleary (1 year, $1.5 MM + $1 MM bonus potential)

[rx7dryver]

I wish I could actually be counterproductive at my job and still have job security and even get raises. Must be great.

Go into management or politics.

 

[InjuredChoker]

Pretty much. The East sucks and we easily could have been 7th seed after the dumpster fire of a season that was last year.

Detroit's closer to 4 than they are 9.

People will be back on the optimism train come January and I'm going to get a good chuckle out of it.

what is your definition of 'optimism train' in this case?

 

[Bench]

People will be back on the optimism train come January and I'm going to get a good chuckle out of it.

Maybe, maybe not.

It's also important to remember how close the Wings were to missing the playoffs the last couple seasons. It took late season heroics from Zetterberg/Howard the previous year and Nyquist last year.

Injuries are going to determine quite a bit. That's true of every team. But it's particularly true of the Red Wings, who rely on older players to carry the majority of the load.

 

[TheMoreYouKnow]

With Datsyuk and Z another year older things can tip the other direction just as easily.

 

[Actual Thought*]

Was he injured all last year then? Or am I missing sarcasm?

I got the impression he was never 100% healthy. It seemed to me he was being cobbled together with bubblegum and duct tape. That might still be the case. I don't know but if he is healthy he is an asset. Cleary is a character guy and all these snot noses can learn a thing or two from a guy like him. He accepts whatever roll he is given. He takes the pain and sacrifices his body. He trains hard and he shows up to work everyday. He might have been a asset to the team last year even being injured. The kids saw first hand the pain that guy went through in order to prevent them from having a job. I read some comment last year from one of the kids saying "Cleary was screaming on the treatment table one minute and competing on the ice the next". I think the kids benefit from having Dan Cleary type guys around the locker room. When Pav is hurt you shut him down and protect your horse. When Cleary is hurt you tape him together for one more race.

 

[silkyjohnson50]

what is your definition of 'optimism train' in this case?

Basically more optimistic than they've been lately.

I think the "killed in the 1st round" talk will subdue once Detroit is playing well and we're matched up against a team like Toronto or Tampa Bay rather than Boston.

Then we'll start hearing the "we really might have a chance to make some noise here" chatter.

People will be excited and the tanking talk that we see so much of right now will be lesser and lesser.

Then once Detroit is on the verge of advancing to round 2, even some of the most pessimistic posters will be excited and "loving this team!"

Like Bench said, health is by far the biggest issue. 13 and 40 have to stay healthier than last year. Kronwall can't miss much either.

But I look at last year as more of a reflection than I do 12-13. We barely crawled into the playoffs in 12-13 but that was in the West and that was in a shortened season. A lot of unique variables that don't compare to a full season in the East. Not to mention I believe our team I flat out better than back then with the likes of Nyquist, Tatar, Dekeyser, and Helm back to playing hockey.

 

[silkyjohnson50]

With Datsyuk and Z another year older things can tip the other direction just as easily.

Even if there play was to fall, do you think that they're going to miss that many games collectively. Even if their games fell tremendously, it's still a big upgrade over them not playing at all - which happened far too often last year. And we still made the playoffs.

 

[Bench]

Not to mention I believe our team I flat out better than back then with the likes of Nyquist, Tatar, Dekeyser, and Helm back to playing hockey.

Yeah there's certainly some bright spots. Nyquist will get a full year. So will Tatar. DeKeyser should be ready to step into a top role with more confidence.

I'm still hopeful Sheahan becomes the next big thing for Detroit hockey.

 

[InjuredChoker]

it depends on lot of things but as there are so many things that have to go right that i think this is wild card team that will lose in first two rounds. philly and NYR will take step back but caps and NJ will improve.

growth of some younger players, health, bounce back from howie and nice trade deadline addition would make me change my mind but i'm not that optimistic at this point.

 

[Actual Thought*]

Basically more optimistic than they've been lately.

I think the "killed in the 1st round" talk will subdue once Detroit is playing well and we're matched up against a team like Toronto or Tampa Bay rather than Boston.

Then we'll start hearing the "we really might have a chance to make some noise here" chatter.

People will be excited and the tanking talk that we see so much of right now will be lesser and lesser.

Then once Detroit is on the verge of advancing to round 2, even some of the most pessimistic posters will be excited and "loving this team!"

Like Bench said, health is by far the biggest issue. 13 and 40 have to stay healthier than last year. Kronwall can't miss much either.

But I look at last year as more of a reflection than I do 12-13. We barely crawled into the playoffs in 12-13 but that was in the West and that was in a shortened season. A lot of unique variables that don't compare to a full season in the East. Not to mention I believe our team I flat out better than back then with the likes of Nyquist, Tatar, Dekeyser, and Helm back to playing hockey.

I agree. If healthy this team should be automatically better than last year. I expect a few players to take a step forward and make another trip to the playoffs. The league is a parity league now. Not even the power houses are that powerful. If a few kids pan out we could be pretty decent.

 

[Frk It]

Not even the power houses are that powerful.

Huh? Two teams have won 4 of the last 5 Cups...

 

[Bench]

Huh? Two teams have won 4 of the last 5 Cups...

And that other team is the one that manhandled the Wings in the 1st round.

 

[rt]

Coyotes fans feel your pain today.

C'mere and give us a hug.

 

[Actual Thought*]

Huh? Two teams have won 4 of the last 5 Cups...

You got me. We suck and Cleary is just a symptom of cronic disease infesting the franchise.

 

[InjuredChoker]

Coyotes fans feel your pain today.

C'mere and give us a hug.

may i guess, moss signing?

 

[rt]

may i guess, moss signing?

He's our Cleary. We hate him so, so much.

 

[Roy S]

I could see them battling it out with Montreal for 3rd in the division. Howard should be better and that will help a lot and if they have moderately good health, they'll be really deep at forward and able to roll 4 lines with a puck possession driver on each line. 2 of the defensive pairings will probably have that, as well.

 

[WingedWheel1987]

I could see them battling it out with Montreal for 3rd in the division. Howard should be better and that will help a lot and if they have moderately good health, they'll be really deep at forward and able to roll 4 lines with a puck possession driver on each line. 2 of the defensive pairings will probably have that, as well.

Wings bottom six is going to have

Cleary
Miller
Glendenning
Helm
Sheahan

Andersson is going to be playing in the bottom six when he isn't a healthy scratch. (You know he isn't going to get waived) Abby will hopefully get pushed down to the bottom six if Alfie comes back.

I am hoping the Wings just have a good top six. I am expecting the bottom six to continue to be useless on most nights.

 

[Shaman464]

Not really. The current team achieved that without Datsyuk and Zetterberg for half the year.

Wings are a decent team with D and Z. But it ends there. Failure to improve key areas will leave them as heavy underdogs against the top teams in the league.

This team is made of glass, just based on past experience there is no reason to believe Franzen, Datsyuk or Zetterberg will play the whole season. There is also the bare fact that they are all on the wrong side of thirty and at some point in the near future will start to regress. Yzerman did, Fedorov did, Shanhan did, they will too. If this should start in the next couple seasons the Wings are up **** creek without a paddle.

 

[Number1RedWingsFan52]

He's our Cleary. We hate him so, so much.

Moss + Cleary =

 

[silkyjohnson50]

Wings bottom six is going to have

Cleary
Miller
Glendenning
Helm
Sheahan

Andersson is going to be playing in the bottom six when he isn't a healthy scratch. (You know he isn't going to get waived) Abby will hopefully get pushed down to the bottom six if Alfie comes back.

I am hoping the Wings just have a good top six. I am expecting the bottom six to continue to be useless on most nights.

Why did you exclude Tatar, who is going to be in the bottom 6 as well.

Sheahan-Tatar and Helm-Miller are likely duos. Those are nothing to scuff at. Obviously Jurco would have been a huge upgrade to compete the Kid line and any line that Cleary is possibly on will suffer, but there's still some good pieces. Excluding Cleary, Detroit's forward group is a positive.

 

[Shaman464]

Why did you exclude Tatar, who is going to be in the bottom 6 as well.

Sheahan-Tatar and Helm-Miller are likely duos. Those are nothing to scuff at. Obviously Jurco would have been a huge upgrade to compete the Kid line and any line that Cleary is possibly on will suffer, but there's still some good pieces. Excluding Cleary, Detroit's forward group is a positive.

On paper they are great.

In real life is another story. This forward groups is singlehandedly revitalizing Detroit's hospitals.

 

[WingedWheel1987]

Why did you exclude Tatar, who is going to be in the bottom 6 as well.

Sheahan-Tatar and Helm-Miller are likely duos. Those are nothing to scuff at. Obviously Jurco would have been a huge upgrade to compete the Kid line and any line that Cleary is possibly on will suffer, but there's still some good pieces. Excluding Cleary, Detroit's forward group is a positive.

Even with Tatar in the bottom six, there are just too many one dimensional players down there.

Helm and Miller can't produce any offense. One exists only to PK and the other is fast, but no hands.
Cleary is the anti life equation
Glendenning...

You basically have Sheahan and Tatar as your only threats in the bottom six. If you play them together, you have a semi functional third line, but if you split them up, you just have two 4th lines.

The Cleary line is destined to be one of the worst lines in hockey.

Tatar/Sheahan/Jurco would be a legit third line. Too bad it's not going to happen. Maybe next season, after Jurco becomes a man.

 

[silkyjohnson50]

Even with Tatar in the bottom six, there are just too many one dimensional players down there.

Helm and Miller can't produce any offense. One exists only to PK and the other is fast, but no hands.
Cleary is anti offense
Glendenning...

You basically have Sheahan and Tatar as your only threats in the bottom six.

The Cleary line is destined to be one of the worst lines in hockey.

Tatar is the most dangerous player in our bottom 6. He and Sheahan will produce some offense. And Helm and Miller are going to be "4th liners". Helm will be one of the better players to be on a "4th line" in the NHL. How many 4th liners produce offense btw?

I really don't expect Cleary to play much to be honest, so his presence is pretty overblown (which doesn't excuse the joke of a contract he received for no good reason.)

Zetterberg-Datsyuk-Alfie (he'll be back)
Franzen-Weiss-Nyquist
Abdelkader-Sheahan-Tatar
Miller-Helm-Glendening
Andersson
Cleary

So who does Cleary even knock out of the lineup? Babcock loves Glendening and he has more versatility than Cleary since he can play center. Miller is flat out better and much more important to the PK.

I don't even know that Cleary would get iced over Andersson.

I hated the Cleary signing as much as anyone. It was pointless and a complete waste of money and I absolutely hated the principal of the whole ordeal.

But in reality it's probably going to have very little impact on the ice.

It sucks for Callahan and Ferraro though. They deserved a shot to win a extra forward spot and Cleary likely stole that from them.

But again, where is the problem with our forward group?

You're reaching.

 

[WingedWheel1987]

I am not reaching.

Just remember who the Red Wings coach is.

Cleary is going to play way too many games. I assume the worst case scenario, because that's the most likely scenario.

But maybe you are right. This time it's different...