Report: Cleary to sign with PHI, 3 yrs, $2.75m/yr, NTC

[Jedi 1,865]

Seeing plenty of reports from credible sources, appears its unofficially official, Cleary will sign with the Flyers.

Some details from Helene St. James...

Daniel Cleary is going to Philadelphia Flyers for 3 years, AAV of $2.75 Million. NTC. Deal won't be official till end of month

Know Red Wings teammates very disappointed to lose Daniel Cleary. Coach Mike Babcock very badly wanted him back. Guy delivered in playoffs.

And to answer the question we had of who gets the #11 if Cleary returns...

Daniel Alfredsson told Cleary last week if Cleary re-signed with Red Wings, was happy for Cleary to keep no. 11. Now, no need to switch.

And finally, so everyone knows what kind of cap crunch this puts Philly in, from Sean Gentile (NHL writer for the Sporting News)...

So they Flyers are now nearly $5.5 million over the cap, which is more than Pronger makes. Man oh man.

[Nev 1,085]

Well, first of all, thankyou Dan Cleary for all you did for us, for laying your body on the line for us, and for being a heart and soul Red Wing.

Second of all, what a terrible deal for Philly. Not just a massive overpayment, but a contract that's 2 years too long for a guy whose playing style has wrecked his body.

[ShanahanMan 473]

Hahaha. And a NTC to boot.

I appreciate Cleary's hard work here over the years, and his come back story is an awesome one, but I definitely won't miss seeing him loose every puck battle he's in and fall on his face every shift. The guy is do doubt one of the hardest workers but simply doesn't have the skill to match.

Good luck Cleary! Enjoy your massive overpayment!

[Seraph 240]

Great deal for Cleary. Loved the guy while he was here. You always got 100% effort from him. Not a fan of his critics on here because he's a true Red Wing through and through. The guy basically destroyed his body for our team so you can't fault him for his declining performance.

Hope he enjoys this great contract.

[blgillett 48]

Good for him he fits in there I would think they go after those type of guys all the time I liked Cleary but it was time for him to move on. Still would rather have him over Sammy though

[FireCaptain 563]

Apparently Cleary does not understand the finer points of negotiating and playing poker.

Mandatory horrible pun: Daniel Cleary is leaving Detroit and going to a New Found Land(ing).

Cleary rejected the Red Wings' offer on July 3 of a three-year, $5.5 million contract ($2 million in each of the first two seasons and $1.5 million the final season).

Josh Rimer of the NextSportsStar.com radio show said Cleary took the Flyers' offer to the Red Wings hoping they'd match it but the answer was no. The Red Wings are $640,000 over the salary cap and have 16 forwards, two more than they'll carry into the regular season.

http://www.mlive.com/redwings/index.ssf/2013/09/daniel_cleary_leaving_detroit.html

[Shaman 713]

Too much for him, hes lost a few steps, isn't durable, and wasn't as clutch as his stats in the playoffs would suggest. Enjoy this boat anchor Philly.

Edited September 11, 2013 by Shaman

[Dabura 12,232]

Daniel Cleary, the most coveted, desirable free agent in the history of the National Hockey League.

[Dabura 12,232]

Must be the clooouuuds in my eyes...

[sputman 1,268]

Must be the clooouuuds in my eyes...

Wouldn't that have been something had he gone to Dallas?

Daniel you're a staaaaaar...

[Dabura 12,232]

PHILADELPHIA FREEDOM

[ogreslayer 1,069]

At last, our long national nightmare is over. Thank you Paul Holmgren for proving again just how insane you really are. Danny, thanks for all the memories & hard work but I'm glad Kenny came to his senses & didn't match that contract offer.

[TheXym 2,606]

I'm glad he's playing elsewhere for that cap hit. You can bash him all you want (I know I complained about him in GDT's more than once), but there is no denying that he was a warrior on the ice, and always left it all on the ice. In some ways he personified the Red Wings ethos IMHO, but his body just couldn't hold up. Thanks for your contributions to the Winged Wheel, Danny. Good luck in Philly (but I hope you don't score a point against the Wings unless they already have the game won). Give the Pens hell!

[55fan 5,133]

I wonder if all of the "still talking with Detroit" stuff we've been hearing is just that they're still "talking" so that more teams would take an interest in him and/or offer him more.

"Talking" as in:

Hey, Dan! How's it going?

Pretty good, Ken. A couple of teams interested in me.

Great! Any offers you'd like?

Not yet. Still a little low.

Well, we'll keep talking. Makes them a little nervous like they might miss out on you.

Thanks, Ken.

No problem, Dan. We owe you for not being able to fit you in after all you've done here.

Ok, talk to you later, Ken.

Keep me posted, Dan.

Seriously, best of luck to him. He's a good guy.

[Rivalred 630]

So much for him wanting to play for Detroit

Best of luck Danny, you will be missed

Edited September 10, 2013 by Rivalred

[Detroit # 1 Fan 2,204]

God bless ya Dano, take the money and run buddy. Paul Holmgren is insane.

[dat's sick 1,002]

3yrs? NTC?

...what?

Cleary's not got much left in the tank. Glad we dodged that contract. Gotta wish him the best though, he's not a bad guy and has done a lot for us.

[Rick D 390]

Phillidelphia, where players go to live out their twilight years on LTIR

[Euro_Twins 4,485]

I'm glad he's playing elsewhere for that cap hit. You can bash him all you want (I know I complained about him in GDT's more than once), but there is no denying that he was a warrior on the ice, and always left it all on the ice. In some ways he personified the Red Wings ethos IMHO, but his body just couldn't hold up. Thanks for your contributions to the Winged Wheel, Danny. Good luck in Philly (but I hope you don't score a point against the Wings unless they already have the game won). Give the Pens hell!

Hold on a minute, how can he be a warrior if he isn't a firefighter?

[Nightfall 871]

If this isn't the definition of overpayment, I don't know what is.

Seriously though, Cleary worked his ass off for us and I appreciate everything he has done. I just don't think he is worth that much.

[Euro_Twins 4,485]

If he went to Colorado he could have had his number retired

[shoe 165]

One of the better playoff beards we had on our teams over the years.

I think he got a great deal for his age, he has paid his dues over the years too bad the wings couldnt fit him in I have a feeling we will miss those important timely goals he has scored for us in the playoffs.

[e_prime 1,936]

Y'all realize that if asked Cleary would waive that NTC in a heartbeat to come back to Detroit, right?

Scary jokes aside, I think I will miss Dan Cleary.

He left everything out on the ice every night, and even it was time for him to move along, I'll miss him.

I certainly don't know what Philly is thinking with this contract. Too much for too long.

[Echolalia 2,961]

3 years? How is that possible?

[b.shanafan14 733]

Great guy who'll be sorely missed. He really pulled out all the stops in this last playoff run and he was always a great locker room presence, seemed extremely well liked and banged the "Red Wings are the greatest organization ever" drum right up until the minute he left. Great contract (for him) and I wish him the best of luck!

EDIT: This would sting less if we didn't have all these older roster hangers-on like Samuelsson and Bertuzzi, who ironically were some of the players brought in over the last 3-4 years or so using the "Dan Cleary" theory (i.e. they sucked elsewhere, seemed washed up, but hopefully a stop here will turn things around).

Edited September 10, 2013 by b.shanafan14