Report: Cleary, Flyers sign three-year deal

After almost moving to Philadelphia, veteran forward Dan Cleary will reportedly re-sign with the Detroit Red Wings Thursday night.

Veteran forward Dan Cleary has signed a three-year deal with the Philadelphia Flyers, Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press reported Monday.

The 34-year-old Cleary was weighing his options early this week as NHL training camps get set to open. Although Cleary spent the last eight seasons as a solid defensive forward for the Detroit Red Wings, he received offers from the Flyers as well as the Florida Panthers.

The Red Wings invested heavily in free-agent forwards Stephen Weiss and Daniel Alfredsson this summer. According to capgeek.com, the team is currently over the new $64.3 million cap for 2013-14.

Cleary’s previous contract, which expired in July, carried a $2.8 million cap hit.

The 13th-overall pick in the 1997 NHL Entry Draft by the Chicago Blackhawks, Cleary, who hails from Carbonear, N.L., became the first Newfoundland native to win the Stanley Cup, with Detroit in 2008.

When submitting content, please abide by our submission guidelines, and avoid posting profanity, personal attacks or harassment. Should you violate our submissions guidelines, we reserve the right to remove your comments and block your account. Sportsnet reserves the right to close a story’s comment section at any time.