Possible Deals for Cleary, Lilja on the way

[Turkey 0]

If you want to make room to re-sign Cleary, then you cut Sammy (trade) and Franzen loose. I dont think theyll let him walk. I think their issue here is what Ken Holland mentioned about them having money at the deadline. Im thinking theyre looking to trade for a player that might not be just a rental, and if thats the case theyre gonna need to know Clearys number beforehand to see if they can take on that salary next season as well, or if they shouldnt put all their eggs in one basket and trade a lot for someone they wont end up re-signing...

"I'd be uncomfortable to go out and get a potential unrestricted free agent (via trade) and then have all these players leave. Ideally, we'll have a deal in place with Dan Cleary, and then I know what money I'll have under the cap, and we can set our sights on other things. If we don't have a deal, we've got some decisions to make."

Think about it this way. If Detroit is, for example, really serious about getting Prospal for example, then theyll probably want to re-sign him since theyll give up a decent amount for him. If thats the case, they may not be able to do that If Cleary wants 3.5M and they sign him to that salary before they get Prospal. If they do re-sign Cleary to 3.5M, then maybe they go after a guy like Malone instead of a guy like Prospal.

Ah, thanks for that quote. That makes good sense. I suppose it would be risky to bring in a big player in a trade not knowing if you can afford to pay him and a heart and soul player like Cleary afterwards.

[Lou_Siffer 1]

did you use a "Lilly-hammer" to smash the tomatoes, Lou?

A lilly-hammer? You really nailed that one loo!