Bob Duff: Franzen feeling fine after returning to game action Detroit forward Johan Franzen (concussion) saw his first game action since Jan. 6 in Thursday's pre-season win over Pittsburgh.

hes a bottom 6 forward now. with younger kids pushing him as well.

I was convinced that Franzens career was over, so anything he contributes at this point is just a bonus IMO. His contract is awful, but I cant say that I am upset to have such a capable goal scorer rounding out the bottom half of the depth chart. Our offence is just that much more dangerous while hes healthy, and if/when he does get injured, will anyone even care? Detroits depth up front is just unbelievable and we have more guys worthy of roster spots than we know what to do with.

I was convinced that Franzens career was over, so anything he contributes at this point is just a bonus IMO. His contract is awful, but I cant say that I am upset to have such a capable goal scorer rounding out the bottom half of the depth chart. Our offence is just that much more dangerous while hes healthy, and if/when he does get injured, will anyone even care? Detroits depth up front is just unbelievable and we have more guys worthy of roster spots than we know what to do with.
- ajhill4594

Why do you say/think that his contract is "awful"?

His Cap hit is 3.95 mil. After this season, he is owed less actual $$ than his cap hit, and it continually goes down. So if something goes badly and he finds himself on LTIR, there could be some team interested in picking up his contract to hit the cap floor -- like Prongers and Savards contracts traded this summer to Phoenix/Florida.

Why do you say/think that his contract is "awful"?

His Cap hit is 3.95 mil. After this season, he is owed less actual $$ than his cap hit, and it continually goes down. So if something goes badly and he finds himself on LTIR, there could be some team interested in picking up his contract to hit the cap floor -- like Prongers and Savards contracts traded this summer to Phoenix/Florida.
- Bren4Wings

savard/pronger contracts:

years left - 2
salary cap hit- between 4 and 5 million
actual payroll - $575,000

franzen contract

years left - 5
salary cap hit - about $4 million
actual payroll - $5 million this year, then $3.5 million, $2 million, $1 million, $1 million

I doubt we will be able to find someone else to take him off our hands for at least a few more years, and even that may be a difficult. Franzen will be owed more money than savard/pronger in the final 2 years of his contract while offering less cap relief. IMO Franzen, Ericsson, and Howard are all "problem contracts". Now I dont have any problems with them being on the roster, but all 3 are signed for too long and for too much when compared to the roll that they are expected to fill going foward.

Does Mrazek take the #1 spot this season? Sounds like Blashill is going to give him every opportunity.

hes a bottom 6 forward now. with younger kids pushing him as well.
- Jurco_28

I think that's unfair.

League-wide, the cutline for "top six" is a little less than half a point per game. If you sort all NHL forwards who played at least half the season last year by points per game, #180 had .45 ppg. Guys who fall into this range (for the Red Wings last season, that would be the likes of Helm, Sheahan, and Weiss) are probably your middle-six tweeners, guys who can fill in on a second line but are probably better used as strong third-liners.

Johan Franzen? Put up a .67 in a partial season last year, and never less than .72 in the six years before that.

Granted, the standard caveats apply:

1) Yes, there's more to hockey than scoring points, and Franzen in general is not especially good at them.

2) Yes, he's nearly 36 and in the decline phase of his career.

3) Yes, he hasn't played in 9 months.

So yes, there is a chance we could see a decent-sized drop in his usual level of performance this year, and you could be right that he's not long for the top six.

But given his track record I'm inclined to give Franzen the benefit of the doubt. He has been a very reliable and successful point-producer for a very long time, particularly on the powerplay. If he is truly healthy, I'd much rather have him in a top-six winger role than Helm or Abby, if that's what it comes down to.

Does Mrazek take the #1 spot this season? Sounds like Blashill is going to give him every opportunity.
- As_I_See_It

I hope so.

I mean, I'm not exactly sure that Mrazek is definitely better than Jimmy Howard right now (though I suspect he is), but I'm fairly confident that Jimmy Howard is not much better than league average at this point in his career. I would much rather see what Mrazek can do with a real NHL workload than watch Howard be predictably, dependably mediocre.

savard/pronger contracts:

years left - 2
salary cap hit- between 4 and 5 million
actual payroll - $575,000

franzen contract

years left - 5
salary cap hit - about $4 million
actual payroll - $5 million this year, then $3.5 million, $2 million, $1 million, $1 million

I doubt we will be able to find someone else to take him off our hands for at least a few more years, and even that may be a difficult. Franzen will be owed more money than savard/pronger in the final 2 years of his contract while offering less cap relief. IMO Franzen, Ericsson, and Howard are all "problem contracts". Now I dont have any problems with them being on the roster, but all 3 are signed for too long and for too much when compared to the roll that they are expected to fill going foward.
- ajhill4594

There is no more more front loaded contracts allowed anymore. Though Franzen's contract isn't as bad as Savard or Pronger was, it's still one of the better ones available, so there will be teams interested in it.