Guest Crymson Report post Posted April 26, 2009 I'll admit that Cleary has always been one of my favorite Red Wings, ever since the '06-'07 season began. I always loved the story of this guy: a highly-touted prospect who developed an enormous ego and a terrible work ethic and almost saw his career end as a result, and who turned it around, saved his career and got it all on track by becoming one of the toughest, most hardworking and most teamplay-oriented players in the league. Certainly Cleary hasn't had the regular season we expected out of him after his play in the last two seasons. However, I feel that his play in the playoffs so far is showing us once again why the organization gave him the contract that they gave him. He has been playing in every situation and doing it all---scoring, assisting, hitting, screening the goalie, everything, and Ken and Mick even noted that Babs can put Cleary on just about any of the four lines and see him fit in perfectly. Anyway, a big thumbs up from me to Danny for his hard (albeit expected, given his work ethic) work so far in these playoffs Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wingnut40 176 Report post Posted April 26, 2009 I think he played fine last season until his broken jaw and that was most likely the reason for his playoff performance. In this years regular season he wasn't really scoring, but he was working hard every shift, and you're right, with his work ethic he can go out there in every situation. To me, he's synonymous with hard work. Nice to see him scoring again, he's pretty clutch. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
thedisappearer 291 Report post Posted April 26, 2009 Cleary is cool in my book. Always was. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SwedeLundin77 460 Report post Posted April 26, 2009 Well he had a poor season due to his eye issues and the blurriness, then he had to wear the full face visor which messed up his downward vision since he often grinds it out and has to look down in his feet. You could see him slowly getting better after he had the last surgery to fix his eyes and he has really come on in the playoffs because he is built for the playoffs. I kind of feel the same way of Stuart, I feel he didn't play all that well during the regular season but he becomes a hitting machine in the playoffs and ups his play. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ms_Hockey 0 Report post Posted April 26, 2009 Cleary is, by far, my favorite player on the Detroit Red Wings. The work ethic of this guy absolutely astounds me. Any given second he's on the ice, he's putting his heart, soul, and sweat into whatever it is he's doing. Love ya, Cleary. Glad to have you on the Wings! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Rivalred 630 Report post Posted April 26, 2009 Glad he finally decided to show up. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
xBrave_Heartx 0 Report post Posted April 26, 2009 Wheres all the haters at now?? he's sooooo expendable right?? Gritty-2-Way Hockey FTMFW Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest mindfly Report post Posted April 26, 2009 He was good in this series, the first game he pissed me off though he just failed at everything he did... Yet in saying that I would much rather see a hudler on the 2nd line to give saucer passes to Z and Mule. the gritty play of cleary is a good fit on a third line. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Crymson Report post Posted April 26, 2009 He was good in this series, the first game he pissed me off though he just failed at everything he did... Yet in saying that I would much rather see a hudler on the 2nd line to give saucer passes to Z and Mule. the gritty play of cleary is a good fit on a third line. Cleary was one of the best players in this series, and the third line was an outstanding success throughout. Why move Cleary and break up a line that did fantastically throughout all four games? I don't get it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
GMRwings1983 8,804 Report post Posted April 26, 2009 Nobody has ever complained about his work ethic. People just expected him to score more, because he's had stretches in the past where he would go on hot streaks of scoring. Fact is that he's not really on the team to score lots of points. I still think Hudler is more of a top 6 forward than Cleary, but there's no reason to meddle with team chemistry now. He's doing fine on that line with Hank and Franzen, but once we face some adversity, the lines will obviously be juggled around somehow, where Cleary will probably wind up on the 3rd line. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
XxGoWingsxX 0 Report post Posted April 27, 2009 Cleary was one of the best players in this series, and the third line was an outstanding success throughout. Why move Cleary and break up a line that did fantastically throughout all four games? I don't get it. I don't get it either. and by that logic we might as well put cleary on the 4th line and move Kopecky up in his spot lol. Seriously though, Cleary is good where he is at although he literally fits the mold we need him for on any line. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ComradeWasabi 109 Report post Posted April 27, 2009 I still think Hudler is more of a top 6 forward than Cleary, but there's no reason to meddle with team chemistry now. He's doing fine on that line with Hank and Franzen, but once we face some adversity, the lines will obviously be juggled around somehow, where Cleary will probably wind up on the 3rd line. At the moment, we have nine possible top six forwards fighting for those minutes. It's just a question of which line is especially effective on any given night, as we've seen it can be any or all of them in that Columbus series. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Wings_Rule_1010 4 Report post Posted April 27, 2009 Wheres all the haters at now?? he's sooooo expendable right?? Gritty-2-Way Hockey FTMFW Agree. I believe there was a thread complaining about him a while back, so it is nice to see him step it up. Even when he wasn't putting the points off, he was working his ass off. And now he is still working his ass off, but putting the points up, which is deserved and nice to see. Amazing that he leads the team with a +6. Shows his and his linemates dedication to offense and defense Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Heroes of Hockeytown 694 Report post Posted April 27, 2009 After the 07 run I don't know how anyone could not love Dano. His freight train hit on Phaneuf and then assist on the goal, and his shorthanded bomb past Nabokov were two of my favorite moments in those playoffs. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Opie 308 Report post Posted April 27, 2009 Cleary is cool in my book. Always was. Same here, I have 0 problems with Cleary! But he is expendable, to the poster who was arguing about people claiming he is expendable. He is expendable and replaceable, do I want him gone, no, but that doesn't mean he isn't expendable, hell the only 3 not are: Lids, Dats, and Hank. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
