He definitely had interest from Philly. But Cleary denied any firm details were worked out. Strange the Detroit Free Press would report something so concrete only to have the player walk it back. HSJ is a lot of things to a lot of people, but she doesn't materialize contract numbers from thin air so I'm going to assume she got it from a reputable source (Cleary's agent) then everyone got cold feet and the walkin' back began.
Daniel Cleary followed his heart back to the Detroit Red Wings, much to the delight of teammates
Veteran forward spurned tryout offer from Philadelphia, saying he did not have a guaranteed three-year, $8.25 million deal with the Flyers as was reported.
www.mlive.com
Cleary said he had no guaranteed deal in Philadelphia, despite a report of a three-year agreement worth $8.2 million.
“Paul (Flyers GM Holmgren) gave me an opportunity to come to Philly and I had a chance to be a Flyer and we never discussed numbers with Paul,'' Cleary said. “It was a tryout in Philly.
“Paul Holmgren was a real gentleman and a class act through the whole situation. I think he understood how tough the situation was for me. I pretty much told him that I was having a hard time, I needed an extra day or two, and he was in complete support.''
It was difficult for Cleary to join the Flyers when his heart wasn't in it.
“If I was going to go there, I needed to go there 100 percent,'' he said. “I didn’t think it was fair to (Holmgren) or to Mr. Snider (owner Ed) and the organization, or the players, or the Philly fans. My heart was here and I had a change of heart.”
