Notes: Cleary optimistic despite disappointing last season
TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. -- Daniel Cleary isn't blind to the criticism surrounding his re-signing with the Detroit Red Wings this offseason.
But after spending his summer training to improve knee issues that have bothered him for years, Cleary has a positive outlook for the upcoming season.
"It's hard to play in the NHL if you're not going full speed, all cylinders going," Cleary said. "I feel that I've put myself in a good position to be as healthy as I can. Now I've just got to go out and put the work in and see how things go."
Cleary began training one week after the Wings' season ended, and put in the necessary work to make sure he entered training camp as healthy as possible. After three days of training camp, he's still mostly pain-free, which is a lot more than he could say about last year.
"There's a lot of things you guys don't ever hear about or know," Cleary explained. "It was bothersome the whole summer last summer and then going into camp wasn't where it needed to be. I paid the price for it."
To say the least.
Cleary appeared in just 52 games with the Wings during the 2013-14 season, earning four goals and four assists, as well as a -11 plus-minus. He made his final appearance of the season against the Philadelphia Flyers on Jan. 28.
Last year's point total was the lowest of Cleary's nine-year career with the Wings.
Still, general manager Ken Holland kept his word when he promised to take care of Cleary after he re-signed with the Wings for less money last season, and Cleary will wear the Winged Wheel for at least one more year.
"He's training really hard," said coach Mike Babcock. "He's done everything he possibly can. Is his leg up to speed? I thought he looked good this morning. Is his agility there? The same as everyone else: We're going to watch him."
With a host of young talent vying for a roster spot, Cleary knows he has to earn his place in the Wings' lineup.
"You want to pay well and be a good teammate and you want win as a team," Cleary said. "Anytime that your team doesn't do as well as it's supposed to you take it personally. I've certainly taken that upon myself to make sure that I play better."
SUNDAY'S SCRIMMAGE
Team Howe and Team Delvecchio faced off in the third Red vs. White training-camp scrimmage of the weekend Sunday afternoon.
Center Joakim Andersson and forward Hayden Hodgson scored for the white team, while Luke Glendening and Johan Franzen notched goals for Team Howe. Franzen's goal came with less than 17 seconds remaining in the scrimmage to force a shootout.
Tomas Tatar and Andersson scored for Team Delvecchio in a six-round shootout to give Team Delvecchio a 3-2 victory over Team Howe. Franzen scored the lone shootout goal for the red team.
"It was a good pace, I think what I saw every game got a little faster, they had us on our heels to start," said defenseman Brendan Smith. "It was a good turnout, I felt that the boys played really well and we're just excited to play some preseason and get some of the guys back together and play some games."
KRONWALL'S INFLUENCE
After Jonathan Ericsson suffered a season-ending injury in mid-March, defenseman Brendan Smith often found himself skating alongside Niklas Kronwall in the Wings' top defensive pairing. Smith considers Kronwall "Top-5 as a D-man in this league," and believes the experience helped him progress athletically.
"You want to continue to get better and you don't want to plateau," Smith said. "I think that's something that you continue to strive to get better and I thought I did that throughout my season. I was playing my best hockey in playoffs so I gotta feed off of that and continue to get better and I guess that's the thing, I want to turn that page."
MIELE MISSING TRAINING CAMP
In July, the Detroit Red Wings added one more free agent to boost their depth in Grand Rapids, but he's already suffered a setback.
Andy Miele, a Grosse Pointe Woods native, suffered a sports hernia and underwent surgery on Sept. 3 in East Lansing. He just began rehabbing and hopes to be back on the ice by early October so he can begin playing in his childhood team's system.
"It's obviously very exciting," Miele said. "I've grown up watching the Red Wings and now to be a part of this has been a great experience, so I'm very excited to get out there and help out any way I can."
