He even told reporters his head “shuts down”, after workouts.
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“I just needed a few time to think about things”, said Cleary, 36, who was waived at the end of the exhibition season and didn’t immediately report to the Griffins.
Like Franzen, it’s likely you’d take whatever measure was available in at attempt to get back what you’d lost before throwing in the towel for good.
Daniel Cleary thought it over, and he didn’t want to stop playing hockey. “There are a lot of good, young players down there”. “That’s really the information I have right now”.
The Wings were not planning on suspending Cleary and were going to pay him the $950,000 on his one-year deal. His entire salary came off the cap when he was assigned to the Griffins.
Franzen was placed on short-term injured reserve but is out indefinitely. “I told him from a depth standpoint there’s certainly a chance down the road he could be back”.
Cleary said his wife and daughters will remain in the Detroit area while he is with Grand Rapids. I think he’s a great person.
Detroit coach Jeff Blashill thinks it’s a healthy environment for his team to find distractions such as this one to break up what can at times be a mundane 82-game campaign.
Cleary has played 938 National Hockey League games with Chicago, Edmonton, Phoenix and Detroit.
“That didn’t help”, Cleary said.
But with a deep roster, few injuries during the exhibition season, and the emergence of 2014 first-round draft pick Dylan Larkin, Cleary’s prospects of making the final roster evaporated.
“Helm probably took a little step back today, so Helm won’t play tomorrow and I’m not sure he’ll play on Saturday”, Blashill said. “If they can watch a pro every day, a guy that competes, goes to the gym, chips it in, chips it out, makes all the right decisions on the ice, to a degree he’s a bit of a coach”.
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The trio combined for two goals and three assists in the Red Wings’ 4-2 victory in Carolina on October 10 – their fourth straight win over the Hurricanes after sweeping the three-game series last season. Two years ago, he turned down a training camp tryout offer from the Philadelphia Flyers, which included no guarantee of a contract, and re-signed with Detroit on the eve of training camp.
