Leaderboard

Now he's a classic case of getting the big contract and turning in performances. As soon as he reached the top 6 and got his 11 year contract or whatever it was, he hit the off switch on his effort. So what he got a goal and an assist last night, that doesn't make up for his complete lack of effort the past 15 games or so. I'd rather see Franzen be a consistant player that shows his talents on a regualar basis like Datsyuk. It pisses me off that he doesn't care about the regular season cause that's how you get a better spot in the playoffs. Do any of you really want to see the Wings make it to the WCF to face probably the Canucks and lose on the road as they love to do and with all the hometown calls for the Canucks as well? Didn't think so. That's why we need Franzen to put in a little more ******* effort on a regular basis to get the Presidents Trophy and take home ice through the playoffs to the SCF. The Wings will not win a series in which they do not have home ice advantage, mark my words.

Good to see one of our top players become the whipping boy. All the years of idiots bitching about scrubs of marginal impact was getting stale. I thought about interjecting some rationality, but decided it would be pointless. Those who want to hate Franzen will do so regardless. They'll overstate his flaws, downplay or outright dismiss his strengths. Once he goes on another hot streak you'll all go back to jerking off to his picture while burning Ericsson in effigy. Goal and assist tonight. On pace for 30+ goals, and career highs in assists and points. Yeah, such awful depreciation.

As I recall, when Stu was traded here, the little girl was about 9 or 10. They obviously didn't move at that time since it was near the end of the season and it was a rental. He would be UFA in a few months and there was a new baby on the way. He then got a 4-year contract with a partial NTC. I remember that it was said at that time that he wanted to stay put until his step-daughter reached high school so that she wouldn't have to be uprooted again. It seems that the plan was to bring her here. I knew a lady who was divorced in California, and in her case, in order to move away, she had to send her kids to live with their dad in the summer in order to avoid the every-other-weekend visits, which would not have worked over such a long distance. The only reason she got that was that her ex allowed it. Apparently in Stuie's case, either the dad or the courts didn't allow it, or he and his wife decided not to move the family. I do recall that he declined a better offer from Calgary because he didn't want to send the little girl through customs alone on her visitations. Considering that he's from Alberta, that must have been a sacrifice. Hearing how he has put his wife and her child ahead of his own interests has given me a huge amount of respect for him. I would love for him to stay, but I understand why he wants to be back with his wife and 4-year-old son. It has to have been rough for him to be away from his little boy, yet he has honoured his contract with the Wings, even though things apparently didn't go as planned. I wish him well where ever he goes, even if it's with an icky team like the Ducks.

I thought this was really well done. All credit to FissionFire on the Wings board at HFboards http://hfboards.hockeysfuture.com/showthread.php?t=576043

It is pretty sad that he has to take it on the chin, because Holland doesn't dress anyone else who's willing to do it consistently. I hope he doesn't get a concussion from trying to "fire his team up"

The ex-husband wants to be near his daughter, that's not a bad thing, he has every right to see his daughter. Its up to Stuart to decide for himself what is best for him and his relationships, if he makes a grown up decision that he wants to be closer to his family I think every Red Wings fan should support him. I feel bad for even having to say this but there are some things more important than hockey.

Thats because he had a work ethic back then.

Anyone remember this gem? Can't believe I found it on YT. Enjoy before it gets taken down.

"Personal reasons" means it's none of our business.

I hate when people compare Datsyuk to God. I mean, sure he's good, but he's not as good as Datsyuk.

The Wings have put together a great season thus far. Filppula has emerged as the player we knew he could be. The third line is starting to mesh into a real force, the type you need to win in the playoffs. The back-end has shown sparks of brilliance prior to recent miscues. Datsyuk continues to prove time and again he is the elite among the elite, despite having less help than most national media think he does. Even a down season from Zetterberg has shown speed and effort which I believe will see him closer to 70 points than the 62 points he is on pace for. The real sore spot from game to game is the disappearing act of Johan Franzen. He has become a floater, getting away from the inside game that has made him successful in the past. His goals are not coming as easy as he seems to hope, coinciding with his lack of effort. For me, there are two categories Wings forwards have fallen into: 1) those who seem to put in the effort every night, pick up their linemates, and often seem to deserve more on the scoresheet than their linemates' play allows, 2) the passengers, the beneficiary, floating, showing little effort while allowing the first group to do all the work, often seeming to "pad" their stats on the backs of their more tenacious linemates. For me, Datsyuk and Filppula have proven themselves members of the first group. On the flipside, Hudler and Franzen are prime examples of the latter group. Franzen in particular has shown diminishing effort and thus diminishing returns since his 11-year contract was signed at the tail end of the 2008-2009 season. Watching his work ethic, or lack thereof, game in game out has to be a tremendous frustration for Wings coaching and management, as it is for fans. After a decent start to his season, Franzen returned to his inconsistent, uninterested ways: This season he is on pace for: 81gp 29g 31a 60pt (beneficiary of Datsyuk) In the last 22gp: 11pts 7g 4a -3 If his current play continues: 81gp 29g 27a 56pt Looking at Franzen's production and salary since prior to and after signing current contract: 08-09: .479g/gp .831pt/gp $1.15m 09-10: .370g/gp .778pt/gp $5.50m 10-11: .368g/gp .724pt/gp $5.50m 11-12: .358g/gp .741pt/gp $5.25m Last 22gp: .318g/gp .500pt/gp Based on his production prior to signing The Red Wings are paying for: 82gp 40g 29a 69pt Unfortunately, they are getting: 25-29g 41-60pt (based on slump-season) And what about his playoff performance? To me, Franzen's worth will always be measured 60%-75% by his playoff production and effort. But in this "what have you done for me lately" league, what has he done for the team lately? 10-11 playoffs: .250g/gp .375pt/gp previous three playoffs: .608g/gp 1.159pt/gp Is Franzen on a permanent downswing? To me, he is not the player the Wings are paying for and hasn't been since signing his "major contract". He is not getting any younger, has always been injury prone, and even when healthy, lacks the strength of character to sustain interest and effort throughout a season, let alone throughout the remainder of his career. Is there anything that can be done to correct his attitude? Would you be willing to trade him? If so, what would you want in return? Could he be packaged to acquire an elite scorer (Nash, etc.)? I'm not saying we should, or could trade him with adequate return, but the future is not looking fantastic for Franzen.

Karlsson will win, hes going to put up 80+ points. There should probably be an award for Best Offensive Defensemen and another for Best Defensenen.

Hindsight. Did YOU know that he was going to blow his knee out?

Nice way to break out of the losing streak , keep it going boys! I was following the Wings game online, I watched the Leafs-Panthers on TV. I like watching the Leafs lose

Great to see Filppula's effort night in, night out. I've said it before, but this guy brings it as consistently as anyone in the league. He is tenacious every game and make the team better, even when he isn't showing up on the scoresheet. To date he is on pace for 64+ points and 24+ goals. As the team pushes towards the playoffs and gets healthy, its conceivable that his score pace picks up even more. Just like Z, I see him scoring closer to 70 points by the end of the season. Points aside, he brings more than most. Good on ya, Fil :clap:

He has a step daughter and I'm sure that has something to do with it. Could be the courts won't allow her to move, likely because the dad is still there. Plus he's been away from his family for a long time, I could see him wanting to actually be able to be with them more.

I want to say "good" but Miller - Helm - Abdelkader has been playing lights out lately. Whatever happened to The Mule?

Would it be much of a stretch to say that Holland's biggest career mistake will be Franzen over Hossa? It hurts to think how good our top 6 would be with Hossa, especially given he only makes a million or so more than Franzen.

As I said in the GDT arlier, Franzen is in his early 30's, meaning his work ethic is unlikely to improve at this stage in his career. His work ethic was great early on in Detroit, when he played on the 4th line and then had to prove himself on the top two lines. Since then, he has indeed been a floater. The reason people are upset about him, is that they see guys like Helm or Miller busting their ass off on every shift and want Franzen to do the same. They figure that Franzen + Helm's work ethic = 50 goal scorer every season. It's not entirely a bad argument.

Honestly I am sick and tired of the excuses with Mule. I am sick and tired of the lack of play from this guy and his china-doll performances in the last couple of years. This guy is making nearly 4 million a year with this team and plays like he is making the league minimum. I really hope Kenny can move this guy as soon as possible. I have had enough of this joke of a player. His intentional offside yesterday caused a goal, he took his time getting onside the other night against Vancouver and what do ya know, he was flat on his back when the Sedin scored with 15 seconds left. I could go on and on with his lackluster performances, but I feel that I do not have to preach to the choir. Yes, by far this guy has been the most disappointing player in the last couple of seasons. (not including 2009-2010.) Time for a change Mule. Step up or move on. We've got guys in GR that are rotting away because we have your lackluster ass here not wanting to play because its the regular season or whatever your excuse is now.

we got him instead of hossa. for 8 or 9 more years.

Mule could be a 50G guy IMO if he played with passion game in and game out. It's like he has the Fedorov emotion bug.

Chairman Maouth Y U NO POST ON LGW WHEN VANCOUVER CHOKE?