Red Wings waive longtime forward Dan Cleary
The Detroit Red Wings have placed veteran forward Dan Cleary on waivers. If he clears, and it's likely he will, he could be sent to the minors at age 36.
After signing Dan Cleary to a one-year deal earlier this month, the Detroit Red Wings raised some eyebrows. Cleary had a rough season in 2014-15 and his biggest advocate -- head coach Mike Babcock -- had left the organization, leaving some to wonder if the Red Wings would part ways with the veteran winger as his contract expired. Instead, he got a new deal in early September.
On Wednesday, however, the Red Wings placed Cleary on waivers. He is likely to clear and would most likely be sent to the minors. There just isn’t enough room for the 36-year-old forward even as the team has Darren Helm and Pavel Datsyuk starting the season on the shelf with injuries.
The emergence of rookie Dylan Larkin and young sniper Teemu Pulkkinen may have ended up squeezing Cleary out of the picture. But it’s actually been tough sledding for the Newfoundland native over the last few years.
Cleary appeared in just 17 games last season, posting two points. The year before that he dressed in 52 contests and notched eight points. He’s never been a big producer, but the last two seasons represented a dramatic drop off from his regular rates of production.
Entering what would be his 11th season with the Red Wings, Cleary has appeared in 609 games with the club and has registered 275 points. He is a veteran of 938 total games in the NHL and has 387 points over that span. Retirement may be looming, but his willingness to sign a cheap deal to stay in the organization shows that Cleary’s not ready to hang them up just yet.
Part of the 2008 Stanley Cup team, the Red Wings have lost more and more links to their more successful past. There’s still Henrik Zetterberg, Datsyuk, Johan Franzen and Niklas Kronwall of course, but as each longtime Wing leaves in one form or another, the youth of the organization is going to get more of an opportunity to shine.
Under new head coach Jeff Blashill, there’s no shortage of fresh faces to plug into key spots in the lineup as the team moves on and looks more toward the future rather than continually clinging to the past.
