Textbook 1 Report post Posted May 5, 2009 I've been disappointed with Cleary this year. Last season, prior to his jaw injury, he was putting up points and making things happen in the offensive zone. Ever since then, he has not been the same. Cleary's offensive game has pulled a Houdini, so why is he on the second line? This is a line that, like the first line, should be focused on scoring. In my opinion, Cleary this year has been what Kirk Maltby has been. I have no knocks against him defensively, I just can't see why he is on the second line. Our second line currently consists of Franzen and Zetterberg - Franzen provides the big body. While our third line is Filpula, Hudler, and Samuelsson (no big bodies). It makes sense to me to take somebody from the third line and put them on the second. The second line gets a better offensively-minded player while the third line gets a little more size. That's a win-win in my eyes. As a side note, try to count how many times Cleary is on the ice. You won't be able to do it with just one hand - the guy is always falling. Yes, he made a great pass from his knees in game 2, but he didn't even need to if he would have stayed on his skates - it's unbelievable sometimes. Before everybody comes in with their replies, this is not a gripe or a groan, merely my opinion and observation - I simply think somebody else on the second line would be better. Filpula had a mediocre regular season, definitely under expectations, and while he's not putting up a lot of points in the playoffs either, he has looked good out there. I wouldn't mind seeing him on the second line. Your thoughts? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Heaton 1 Report post Posted May 5, 2009 Uh, Cleary is 2nd on the team in points with 7. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
NGKEIB 32 Report post Posted May 5, 2009 Don't listen to what you read elsewhere... Franzén, Zetterberg and Cleary are our first line. Cleary is the hardest-working player we have, he's 2nd on the team in points, and I believe leads the team in plus/minus (haven't checked in a while). Also, since this line has the task of trying to shut down Anaheim's top line (which they've been fairly successful at) it makes since to have a defensively sound and hard-working player like Cleary on it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Pavrik Zettersyuk 4 Report post Posted May 5, 2009 Cleary has been great, and especially now in the playoffs when we need it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Chris L 0 Report post Posted May 5, 2009 Cleary's been a beast out there. His work ethic is amazing! He's got a fire under his ass that few, on the team right now, have. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
hoogs 8 Report post Posted May 5, 2009 Uh, Cleary is 2nd on the team in points with 7. /thread Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Vladifan 680 Report post Posted May 5, 2009 (edited) Uh, Cleary is 2nd on the team in points with 7. I saw plus-8 somewhere, but I could be wrong. Naw. The first line has to start producing, and I think Babs should be willing to switch players around on the first two lines. Shake 'em up, along with the F'ck'n Duckies. EDIT: Sorry - the plus-8 is probably his plus/minus, not points. I'm SO confused... Edited May 5, 2009 by Vladifan Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
NeverForgetMac25 483 Report post Posted May 5, 2009 I saw plus-8 somewhere, but I could be wrong. Naw. The first line has to start producing, and I think Babs should be willing to switch players around on the first two lines. Shake 'em up, along with the F'ck'n Duckies. He is plus 8 and has 7 points. His plus minus is affected by Red Wing goals that he didn't factor in on as well as goals against. To the OP, I'm not sure what guy you're watching, because Cleary has earned every bit of that spot given his playoff performance thus far. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest micah Report post Posted May 5, 2009 Cleary, Ericsson and Osgood have been the only Wings playing at or near their best in this series. I like him where he is. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
NomadFromKazoo 42 Report post Posted May 5, 2009 I've been disappointed with Cleary this year I see your point. We need to get rid of him. And Hossa too, someone else pointed out he's disappeared. And Z and Dats, we haven't had enough points from them in the second round this year. And our secondary scoring doesn't always, gone. And Babcock, what's he doing, can him. Ozzie, goes without saying he's gone. Ilich has completely disappeared from the playoffs. We need to get rid of them all and close down the tent. Let's not get anyone to replace them, they would just be disappointments too. I always enjoy insight's like this... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
XxGoWingsxX 0 Report post Posted May 5, 2009 (edited) Cleary, Ericsson and Osgood have been the only Wings playing at or near their best in this series. I like him where he is. You forgot helm. Dude's been amazing. In fact i'd rather him on the 3rd line for that speed...hell i wouldn't mind seeing him on a line with mule and zatta just to see if there is chemistry there. You got mule who drives the net, zetterberg who can snipe and playmake and then helm who can lead the rush and go hard to the corners...plus he can hit well....i'd like to see this line sometime...not in this series though barring injuries. Edited May 5, 2009 by XxGoWingsxX Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
YoungGuns1340 1 Report post Posted May 5, 2009 Huh? Hes been a playoff beast out there? Taking the body, making plays. Hes been awesome. If the Wings really have to cut cap space, and hes willing to waive that NTC, I wouldn't be surprised to see San Jose come calling. Hes exactly what they need in the playoffs. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
NGKEIB 32 Report post Posted May 5, 2009 You forgot helm. Dude's been amazing. In fact i'd rather him on the 3rd line for that speed...hell i wouldn't mind seeing him on a line with mule and zatta just to see if there is chemistry there. You got mule who drives the net, zetterberg who can snipe and playmake and then helm who can lead the rush and go hard to the corners...plus he can hit well....i'd like to see this line sometime...not in this series though barring injuries. There is chemistry there already though... It's the 2nd line of Hossa, Datsyuk and Holmström that might need a shake-up. And while Cleary certainly hasn't put up the points he did a year or two ago, the injury may have accounted for some of that, and he saw a lot of 3rd line action this year. P.S. Textbook are you the same person as on nhltorrents.co.uk? If so, thank you very much for all of your uploads! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Third Man In 2,091 Report post Posted May 5, 2009 I have no knocks against him defensively, I just can't see why he is on the second line. Our second line currently consists of Franzen and Zetterberg - Franzen provides the big body. While our third line is Filpula, Hudler, and Samuelsson (no big bodies). It makes sense to me to take somebody from the third line and put them on the second. The second line gets a better offensively-minded player while the third line gets a little more size. That's a win-win in my eyes. Besides the points others have listed, is there a rule you can only have one big body on a line? As game 2 wore on, the Z-Cleary-Franzen line finally started to neutralize the Getzlaf line, had them pinned in their own end, and scored the tying goal against them at even strength. A few periods doesn't mean that this line has completely solved the Getlaf line, but they took a big step. The only valid point you could make about Cleary's offence is that he's scored "only" 2 goals in 6 games. But on that line he's not counted on as much for that. Mule has 4 goals and Z has 3, so I think Cleary is working just fine on that line. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Z Winged Dangler 2,082 Report post Posted May 5, 2009 cleary's been really good in the playoffs. he had a mediocre at best reg season, but he's earning his spot right now. if any line up changes, i'd like to see leino in place of maltby, and i can't wait for rafalski to be back, they miss him big time. and the zetterberg-franzen-helm trio would kick some serious ass! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
NGKEIB 32 Report post Posted May 5, 2009 But Franzén-Zetterberg-Cleary already kick ass... Helm is great where he is, maybe on the 3rd line tops. And if anyone should sit, it'll be Kopecky. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Z Winged Dangler 2,082 Report post Posted May 5, 2009 But Franzén-Zetterberg-Cleary already kick ass... Helm is great where he is, maybe on the 3rd line tops. And if anyone should sit, it'll be Kopecky. maltby has stone hands and doesn't bring more to the table than leino would. the wings need to show more faith in their highly touted prospects like other teams do. ex. bobby ryan... personally, i'd rather use leino's speed and nose for the net instead of maltby's agitating. and yes, that line does kick ass, and they're part of the reason that the wings are gonna come out on top in this series. they don't need one player to suck up half the game, they have 4 capable lines. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
stevkrause 1,247 Report post Posted May 5, 2009 um......... what? :rotflmao: Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
T.OWingsFan 7 Report post Posted May 5, 2009 Interesting if somewhat misguided thread. Cleary has lots of fight and is getting on the score sheet regularly. See that back pass he made to Z when he was on his ass which led to the Franzen tying goal last game for instance? There's only 1 guy not producing on that line and he doesn't hail from Newfoundland. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
NGKEIB 32 Report post Posted May 5, 2009 maltby has stone hands and doesn't bring more to the table than leino would. the wings need to show more faith in their highly touted prospects like other teams do. ex. bobby ryan... personally, i'd rather use leino's speed and nose for the net instead of maltby's agitating. and yes, that line does kick ass, and they're part of the reason that the wings are gonna come out on top in this series. they don't need one player to suck up half the game, they have 4 capable lines. Apart from agitating and playing physically, Maltby is able to read plays (I think in the last game he was able to steal the puck from Selänne who tried a fancy pass/deke - that's something off of the top of my head, but there were certainly more occasions) and is a good defensive forward who can play on the penalty kill if needs be. Plus, he's won 4 Stanley Cups... Kopecky has a big frame which he could definitely use more, and his balance isn't great. Kopecky is sometimes moved up to the 3rd line, but I don't think he contributes that much there. Basically, I can't see how Kopecky is more valuable than Maltby, so if you need to sit one of the two, sit Koko. I think Leino played well when he was called up, even when he had 4th line duty - but I think this is overlooking the problem, namely that our 2nd and 3rd lines aren't scoring (yes I called HDH our 2nd line). So I agree that it would be nice to give our 4th line that edge, but I don't think that that is what is concerning Babcock at the moment. Also I think there has been a good deal of overreacting. We're only 2 games in, tied 1-1, and are a good road team who will be hungry and less rusty. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sherwood5030 0 Report post Posted May 5, 2009 Fail..... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jake Ryan 1 Report post Posted May 5, 2009 I see your point. We need to get rid of him. And Hossa too, someone else pointed out he's disappeared. And Z and Dats, we haven't had enough points from them in the second round this year. And our secondary scoring doesn't always, gone. And Babcock, what's he doing, can him. Ozzie, goes without saying he's gone. Ilich has completely disappeared from the playoffs. We need to get rid of them all and close down the tent. Let's not get anyone to replace them, they would just be disappointments too. I always enjoy insight's like this... So this leaves us with: Owner: Al Sobotka Coach: Karen Newman Franzen-Filppula-Hudler Samuelsson-Helm-Kopecky Meech-Leino-Abdelkader McCarty-Draper-Downey Lidstrom-Rafalski Stuart-Kronwall Ericsson-Lebda Conklin Howard Call me crazy, but I still like our chances!! Let's go Red Wings (Cleary too)!!! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Detroit # 1 Fan 2,204 Report post Posted May 5, 2009 Are you freaking kidding me? 7 points and +8 and hard work every shift, top 20 in the league in hits amongst the tops for FORWARD hits in the playoffs? Great PKing and solid defensive positioning. Yeah he sucks. Oh and YG, please dont talk about Cleary being traded to San Jose, it'd break my heart to see two good newfies stuck on the jesus Sharks Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Z and D for the C 712 Report post Posted May 5, 2009 (edited) Sometimes cleary looks like he has no idea what he's doing, but he's putting up the points. Cleary made a great play to get the puck to Zetterberg when Franzen scored. You can't break up that line. I'd like to see: FZC Leino Flip Hossa Hudler Datsyuk Sammy/Homer Edited May 5, 2009 by Z and D for the C Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
