Daniel Cleary

{{Infobox ice hockey player

| name = Daniel Cleary

| image = Daniel Cleary Grand Rapids.jpg

| image_size = 230 px

| caption = Cleary with the Grand Rapids Griffins in 2015

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1978|12|18}}

| birth_place = Carbonear, Newfoundland, Canada

| height_ft = 6

| height_in = 0

| weight_lb = 208

| position = Left wing

| shoots = Left

| played_for = Chicago Blackhawks
Edmonton Oilers
Phoenix Coyotes
Mora IK
Detroit Red Wings

| ntl_team = CAN

| draft = 13th overall

| draft_year = 1997

| draft_team = Chicago Blackhawks

| career_start = 1998

| career_end = 2017

}}

Daniel Michael Cleary (born December 18, 1978) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Chicago Blackhawks, Edmonton Oilers, Phoenix Coyotes and Detroit Red Wings. He currently serves as the Director of Player Development for Detroit.{{Cite web|url=https://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/former-nhler-daniel-cleary-still-paying-forward-red-wings/|title = Former NHLer Dan Cleary still paying it forward for Red Wings - Sportsnet.ca}}

He was a member of the 2008 Stanley Cup winning Red Wings team, and in doing so became the first player from Newfoundland and Labrador to win the Stanley Cup.

Playing career

=Junior=

Cleary was born in Carbonear, Newfoundland, the location of the area's only hospital, and was raised in Harbour Grace, in a section of the town called Riverhead.{{cite news|last1=Couch|first1=Graham|title=Red Wings' Cleary first player from Newfoundland to win Stanley Cup title|url=http://www.mlive.com/redwings/index.ssf/2008/06/red_wings_cleary_first_player.html|access-date=July 12, 2014|publisher=Michigan Live|date=June 4, 2008}} After playing minor hockey in Harbour Grace, Cleary left home at age 15 to play for the Kingston Voyageurs of the Metro Junior Hockey League (OHA). He scored 46 points in 41 games with the Voyageurs that season, and was subsequently selected 11th overall by the Belleville Bulls of the OHL in the 1994 OHL Priority Selection.

Cleary spent his junior career with Belleville. After his rookie season in 1994-95, Cleary was named to the CHL All-Rookie Team and to the OHL First All-Rookie team. During Cleary's second year with the Bulls, he was second in the league in points with 115 and was named to the OHL First All-Star Team and the CHL Second All-Star Team. During the 1996–97 season, Cleary served as captain of the Bulls. While his offensive production dropped off from the previous season, he was nevertheless named to the OHL First All-Star Team, and was drafted 13th overall by the Chicago Blackhawks in the 1997 NHL Entry Draft. Cleary played his final year of major junior hockey during 1997–98, leading the OHL playoffs in assists (17) and points (23).{{cite web|title=Elite Prospects|url=http://www.eliteprospects.com/player.php?player=4376| website = Dan Cleary}}

=Professional=

Just one year removed from junior hockey, Cleary was dealt to the Edmonton Oilers as part of a package that landed Boris Mironov in Chicago. Cleary played parts of four seasons in Edmonton. Cleary's $1 million contract was bought out by the Oilers in the summer of 2003. Shortly thereafter, he was signed to a much cheaper contract by the Phoenix Coyotes. He played, together with his former Edmonton teammate and friend Shawn Horcoff, for Mora IK of Elitserien during the 2004–05 NHL lockout. Following the lockout, Phoenix did not offer Cleary a qualifying contract. Cleary was invited to the Detroit Red Wings training camp, making the team out of camp and signing to a one-year contract with the Red Wings on October 4, 2005.{{cite web|url=http://redwings.nhl.com/team/app?articleid=320672&page=NewsPage&service=page |title=Cleary signs, final roster set for opener |publisher=redwings.nhl.com |date=2005-10-04 |access-date=2009-06-13 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111001164508/http://redwings.nhl.com/team/app?articleid=320672&page=NewsPage&service=page |archive-date=2011-10-01 }} In the 2005–06 season, Cleary established himself as a dependable role player as a defensive forward.

In the 2006–07 season, given an expanded role with the Wings, Cleary scored a career high 20 goals in 71 games. During the 2006–07 NHL playoff quarterfinals against Calgary, Cleary successfully converted a penalty shot while shorthanded; this was the first time it had been done in Detroit during the playoffs.

File:Daniel_Cleary.jpg.]]

In the 2007–08 season, Cleary repeated the accomplishment of scoring 20 goals in the regular season. On February 9, 2008, Cleary suffered a broken jaw which forced him to miss 19 games. On March 11, 2008, Cleary signed a five-year contract extension with the Detroit Red Wings, worth $14 million.{{cite web |url=http://redwings.nhl.com/team/app/?service=page&page=NewsPage&articleid=356582 |title=Cleary earns new five-year deal |publisher=redwings.nhl.com |date=2008-03-11 |access-date=2008-03-13 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080313193344/http://redwings.nhl.com/team/app/?service=page&page=NewsPage&articleid=356582 |archive-date=2008-03-13 }}

On June 4, 2008, Cleary won the Stanley Cup with the Detroit Red Wings as they beat the Pittsburgh Penguins four games to two in the Stanley Cup Finals, becoming the first Newfoundlander to do so.

On June 30, 2008, Cleary brought the Stanley Cup home to Newfoundland. A packed lobby welcomed Cleary at the St. John's International Airport. Later that day, Cleary brought the Cup to the Janeway Children's Hospital.{{cite news|url=http://www.ctvnews.ca/danny-cleary-brings-stanley-cup-home-to-n-l-1.305531|title=Danny Cleary brings Stanley Cup home to N.L.|access-date=2008-06-30|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080702160024/http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20080630/stanley_cleary_080630/20080630?hub=TopStories|archive-date=2008-07-02}} On July 1, 2008, Cleary brought the Stanley Cup back to his hometown of Harbour Grace, Newfoundland for a Canada Day celebration that included a parade and a concert. The event attracted an estimated 27,000 people. The event also attracted an estimated 103 individual media accreditations with media from across Canada and the United States landing in Harbour Grace to cover Dan Cleary's story.

The Newfoundland bluegrass/folk band Greeley's Reel recorded a "hockey anthem" version of their song "Come In" about Cleary after the win. The refrain specifically highlights the celebration that would occur "when Danny Cleary brings the Stanley Cup to Newfoundland." In addition to receiving extensive local radio airplay, the song appeared on CBC Television and a Fox Sports Detroit special.Greely's Reel Band Website{{cite news|url=http://greeleysreel.com/ |title=Greely's Reel on Dan Cleary |access-date=2009-11-12 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110202231115/http://greeleysreel.com/ |archive-date=2011-02-02 }}

In the 2009 Stanley Cup playoffs on May 14, 2009, Cleary scored the tie breaking, Western Conference semi-final series winning goal for the Detroit Red Wings against the Anaheim Ducks with three minutes left in game seven. With the win the Red Wings moved on to face the Chicago Blackhawks in the Western Conference Final. Cleary scored five goals against his former team in a 4-1 series win clinching the Western Conference title before succumbing to the Pittsburgh Penguins in seven games in a rematch of the previous Stanley Cup Finals.

In 2009, Cleary founded the Danny Cleary Hockey School in his native province of Newfoundland. The hockey school achieved notoriety after Henrik Zetterberg appeared wearing a hat donning the Danny Cleary Hockey School logo.

On September 12, 2013, the Detroit Red Wings re-signed Cleary to a one-year, $1.75 million contract.[http://redwings.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=682277 Cleary, Wings agree on one-year deal] On July 10, 2014, the Detroit Red Wings re-signed Cleary to a one-year, $1.5 million contract, with up to $1 million in performance-based bonuses.{{cite web|title=Red Wings re-sign Daniel Cleary|url=http://redwings.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=725892|publisher=Detroit Red Wings|first=Kyle|last=Kujawa|date=July 10, 2014|access-date=July 10, 2014}}

During the 2014–15 season, Cleary appeared in 17 games for the Red Wings, where he recorded one goal and one assist. On September 4, 2015, the Detroit Red Wings re-signed Cleary to a one-year, $950,000 contract.{{cite web|title=Red Wings re-sign Cleary to one-year deal|url=http://redwings.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=778231|publisher=Detroit Red Wings|first=Todd|last=Beam|date=September 4, 2015|access-date=September 4, 2015}}

On September 23, 2016, Cleary signed a one-year contract with the Grand Rapids Griffins of the American Hockey League (AHL).{{cite web|title=Cleary continues to mentor future Red Wings|url=https://www.nhl.com/redwings/news/daniel-cleary-continues-to-mentor-future-red-wings/c-282082130|publisher=Detroit Red Wings|first=Dana|last=Wakiji|date=September 23, 2016|access-date=September 23, 2016}} During the 2016–17 season, Cleary did not feature in a game for the Griffins instead serving as an unofficial player/coach role in mentoring the younger players within the Red Wings organization. Cleary announced his retirement from playing after the Griffins captured the Calder Cup on June 13, 2017.{{cite news| url = http://www.detroitnews.com/story/sports/nhl/red-wings/2017/06/14/ex-wing-cleary-caps-playing-career-calder-cup/102846994/ | title = Ex-Wing Cleary caps playing career with Calder Cup | newspaper = Detroit News | date = 2017-06-13 | access-date = 2017-06-13}}

International play

Cleary's first experience representing Canada internationally was when he played at the 1995 U18 Tournament, scoring four goals and four assists over five games. Cleary later played for Canadian national team at the 2002 IIHF World Championship, scoring two goals and three points in a disappointing sixth-place finish, which was Canada's fifth straight World Championship without a gold medal.

Career statistics

=Regular season and playoffs=

border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="0" style="text-align:center; width:60em"

bgcolor="#e0e0e0"

! colspan="3" bgcolor="#ffffff" |

! rowspan="100" bgcolor="#ffffff" |

! colspan="5" | Regular season

! rowspan="100" bgcolor="#ffffff" |

! colspan="5" | Playoffs

bgcolor="#e0e0e0"

! Season

! Team

! League

! GP

! G

! A

! Pts

! PIM

! GP

! G

! A

! Pts

! PIM

1993–94

| Kingston Voyageurs

| MetJHL

| 41

| 18

| 28

| 46

| 33

| 2

| 0

| 1

| 0

bgcolor="#f0f0f0"

| 1994–95

| Belleville Bulls

| OHL

| 62

| 26

| 55

| 81

| 62

| 16

| 7

| 10

| 17

| 23

1995–96

| Belleville Bulls

| OHL

| 64

| 53

| 62

| 115

| 74

| 14

| 10

| 17

| 27

| 40

bgcolor="#f0f0f0"

| 1996–97

| Belleville Bulls

| OHL

| 64

| 32

| 48

| 80

| 88

| 6

| 3

| 4

| 7

| 6

1997–98

| Chicago Blackhawks

| NHL

| 6

| 0

| —

bgcolor="#f0f0f0"

| 1997–98

| Indianapolis Ice

| IHL

| 4

| 2

| 1

| 3

| 6

| —

1997–98

| Belleville Bulls

| OHL

| 30

| 16

| 31

| 47

| 14

| 10

| 6

| 17

| 23

| 10

bgcolor="#f0f0f0"

| 1998–99

| Chicago Blackhawks

| NHL

| 35

| 4

| 5

| 9

| 24

| —

ALIGN="center"

| 1998–99

| Portland Pirates

| AHL

| 30

| 9

| 17

| 26

| 74

| —

bgcolor="#f0f0f0"

| 1998–99

| Hamilton Bulldogs

| AHL

| 9

| 0

| 1

| 7

| 3

| 0

1999–2000

| Edmonton Oilers

| NHL

| 17

| 3

| 2

| 5

| 8

| 4

| 0

| 1

| 2

bgcolor="#f0f0f0"

| 1999–2000

| Hamilton Bulldogs

| AHL

| 56

| 22

| 52

| 74

| 108

| 5

| 2

| 3

| 5

| 18

2000–01

| Edmonton Oilers

| NHL

| 81

| 14

| 21

| 35

| 37

| 6

| 1

| 2

| 8

bgcolor="#f0f0f0"

| 2001–02

| Edmonton Oilers

| NHL

| 65

| 10

| 19

| 29

| 51

| —

2002–03

| Edmonton Oilers

| NHL

| 57

| 4

| 13

| 17

| 31

| —

bgcolor="#f0f0f0"

| 2003–04

| Phoenix Coyotes

| NHL

| 68

| 6

| 11

| 17

| 42

| —

2004–05

| Mora IK

| SEL

| 47

| 11

| 26

| 37

| 136

| —

bgcolor="#f0f0f0"

| 2005–06

| Detroit Red Wings

| NHL

| 77

| 3

| 12

| 15

| 40

| 6

| 0

| 1

| 6

2006–07

| Detroit Red Wings

| NHL

| 71

| 20

| 40

| 24

| 18

| 4

| 8

| 12

| 30

bgcolor="#f0f0f0"

| 2007–08

| Detroit Red Wings

| NHL

| 63

| 20

| 22

| 42

| 33

| 22

| 2

| 1

| 3

| 4

2008–09

| Detroit Red Wings

| NHL

| 74

| 14

| 26

| 40

| 46

| 23

| 9

| 6

| 15

| 12

bgcolor="#f0f0f0"

| 2009–10

| Detroit Red Wings

| NHL

| 64

| 15

| 19

| 34

| 29

| 12

| 2

| 0

| 2

| 4

2010–11

| Detroit Red Wings

| NHL

| 68

| 26

| 20

| 46

| 20

| 11

| 2

| 4

| 6

bgcolor="#f0f0f0"

| 2011–12

| Detroit Red Wings

| NHL

| 75

| 12

| 21

| 33

| 30

| 5

| 0

| 2

2012–13

| Detroit Red Wings

| NHL

| 48

| 9

| 6

| 15

| 40

| 14

| 4

| 6

| 10

| 2

bgcolor="#f0f0f0"

| 2013–14

| Detroit Red Wings

| NHL

| 52

| 4

| 8

| 31

| —

2014–15

| Detroit Red Wings

| NHL

| 17

| 1

| 2

| 6

| —

bgcolor="#f0f0f0"

| 2015–16

| Grand Rapids Griffins

| AHL

| 35

| 3

| 12

| 15

| 8

| 9

| 0

| 6

bgcolor="#e0e0e0"

! colspan="3" | NHL totals

! 938

! 165

! 222

! 387

! 492

! 121

! 24

! 28

! 52

! 76

=International=

border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="0" ID="Table3" style="text-align:center; width:40em"

ALIGN="center" bgcolor="#e0e0e0"

! Year

! Team

! Event

! Result

! rowspan="99" bgcolor="#ffffff" |

! GP

! G

! A

! Pts

! PIM

2002

| Canada

| WC

| 6th

| 7

| 2

| 1

| 3

| 2

bgcolor="#e0e0e0"

! colspan="4" | Senior totals

! 7

! 2

! 1

! 3

! 2

Awards and honours

class="wikitable"

! Award

! Year

! Ref

ALIGN="center" bgcolor="#e0e0e0"

! colspan="3" | OHL

First All-Rookie Team

| 1995

CHL All-Rookie Team

| 1995

First All-Star Team

| 1996, 1997

CHL Second All-Star Team

| 1996

ALIGN="center" bgcolor="#e0e0e0"

! colspan="3" | AHL

All-Star Game

| 2000

Second all-star team

| 2000

Calder Cup

| 2017

ALIGN="center" bgcolor="#e0e0e0"

! colspan="3" | NHL

Stanley Cup champion

| 2008

References

External links

{{icehockeystats|tsn=daniel-cleary}}

{{succession box | before = Dmitri Nabokov | title = Chicago Blackhawks first round draft pick | years = 1997 | after = Ty Jones}}

Category:1978 births

Category:Living people

Category:Belleville Bulls players

Category:Canadian ice hockey right wingers

Category:Chicago Blackhawks draft picks

Category:Chicago Blackhawks players

Category:Detroit Red Wings personnel

Category:Detroit Red Wings players

Category:Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in the United States

Category:Edmonton Oilers players

Category:Grand Rapids Griffins players

Category:Hamilton Bulldogs (AHL) players

Category:Ice hockey people from Newfoundland and Labrador

Category:Indianapolis Ice players

Category:Mora IK players

Category:NHL first-round draft picks

Category:People from Carbonear

Category:People from Harbour Grace

Category:Phoenix Coyotes players

Category:Portland Pirates players

Category:Stanley Cup champions