Johan Franzen signs extension, 11 years

[DYags 0]

Franzen deal done better mean under $3m. He's not worth $4m right now, so a 10-year deal close to that at his age is INSANE. I know I am in the minority with all the Franzen fanboys here, but that's the truth. If the deal is more than 5 years, he better be $2.5m-$3m per year cap hit.

I agree completely. It's scary to think we'd have franzen at age 39 making 4 mil/season. The cap hit has got to be less than 3 mil/season to justify such a lenghty deal.

[egroen 384]

Franzen deal done better mean under $3m. He's not worth $4m right now, so a 10-year deal close to that at his age is INSANE. I know I am in the minority with all the Franzen fanboys here, but that's the truth. If the deal is more than 5 years, he better be $2.5m-$3m per year cap hit.

Whether we agree with it or not, I think there are plenty of teams that would pay more than $5m for Franzen in free agency. I would love to see Holmstrom-type numbers but that is probably being way too optimistic. I'll be exctatic if it is in the 3 1/2m range or lower.

[russianswede919293 95]

Kenny Holland is for Lovers....

He is amazing! I doubt that there will even be a cap in 9 to 10 years, cause owners don't like where contracts went, this is an amazing move. We have the core of this team signed for the next decade, except Dats who only has 5 more years, and are one of the best drafting teams in the league to fill the depth.

I AM SO HAPPY!

[b.shanafan14 733]

Awesome news if true and the cap hit is less than $4 mil. It does make me a little nervous that we'll be signing possibly 3 players for the next decade (hoping Hossa gets done the same way).

Could be a great 10 years that sees the cap jump and the players continue to reach new highs.

Or is could see a cap drop and the players fall off from the play that earned them the contracts, making them immovable and killing the franchise.

In Ken We Trust, I suppose.

[russianswede919293 95]

Zle. (bad)

But not THAT bad, I am happy Mule is signed but giving that kind of contract to a player like Franzen is nuts, I hope it's for less than 3 million a year. I just don't see Franzen playing good hockey in 7 years or so.

On the other hand Holland knows what's he doing, but I really hope he will find a way to keep Hossa in Motown.

At the end of this deal he will be Homer's age...And Homer still plays like a beast...I'll take it.

[Reds4Life 51]

At the end of this deal he will be Homer's age...And Homer still plays like a beast...I'll take it.

Well, Homer make 2.25 million.

Don't get me wrong, I like Mule but contracts like this are fkin nuts.

[LIDDYGIBBY5 1]

Lots of speculation here. Can anyone confirm any of this yet?

[Doc Holiday 0]

I love Franzen probably more than anyone here but TOO LONGGG

[Chunkylover 26]

I'm not too sure about the long term deals but we will be losing some regulars in the next three seasons and it will be good to have some continuity. In a situation like this I'm more interested in the team getting a good deal than the player, so I hope it's around $3M. Hopefully when Mule said he'd rather win than make big money losing, he was being honest.

[Rice 42]

Franzen deal done better mean under $3m. He's not worth $4m right now, so a 10-year deal close to that at his age is INSANE. I know I am in the minority with all the Franzen fanboys here, but that's the truth. If the deal is more than 5 years, he better be $2.5m-$3m per year cap hit.

In what world is Franzen not worth $4 million? The same world that Hudler is a first line NHL center in?

[finalfilppula 2]

cap hit better be low.

[adtthosa 5]

Bit of a risk with this deal, but if Kenny thought it was the right move, I approve.

[Rice 42]

our team is going to be old as hell in 7-10 years!

Our team has been old as hell for a while now.

[stuck in socal 56]

Someone beat me to it.. Can someone delete my thread. Sorry.

[xBrave_Heartx 0]

Concussion injuries? lets lock him up for 10 years

jesus christ..this is horrible.

[Rivalred 630]

If it is loaded in the 1st few years kiss Hossa good-bye.

[Detroit # 1 Fan 2,204]

Just like I didnt like the long term for Zetterberg, I dont like the long term now. Franzen is less proven with more injury history, hopefully this works out.

[Red Crazy 201]

Good News! I hope that by going such a long term for Franzen that it means a cap hit of 3m or less. Franzen IS worth 4m right now but in 9 yrs? no. 3m or less hit and Kenny IS GOD!

[LIDDYGIBBY5 1]

If it is loaded in the 1st few years kiss Hossa good-bye.

Why is that? It's the cap hit that is important.

[sibiriak 84]

This was probably covered in Zetterberg's contract discussions, but does anybody remember how the cap hit is calculated, if a player on such long front-loaded contract retires before the end of it?

Will the salary count against the cap after the retirement? And will the retired player actually keep getting paid?

[egroen 384]

This was probably covered in Zetterberg's contract discussions, but does anybody remember how the cap hit is calculated, if a player on such long front-loaded contract retires before the end of it?

Will the salary count against the cap after the retirement?

No, not unless the salary goes into effect after the player turns 35.

[LIDDYGIBBY5 1]

This was probably covered in Zetterberg's contract discussions, but does anybody remember how the cap hit is calculated, if a player on such long front-loaded contract retires before the end of it?

Will the salary count against the cap after the retirement? And will the retired player actually keep getting paid?

If I'm not mistaken, the avg. salary is counted against the cap if the player retires before the end of his contract. I don't have a link, I'm just going off of memory. Take it for what it is worth.

[Reds4Life 51]

This was probably covered in Zetterberg's contract discussions, but does anybody remember how the cap hit is calculated, if a player on such long front-loaded contract retires before the end of it?

Will the salary count against the cap after the retirement? And will the retired player actually keep getting paid?

No. Because if player signs BEFORE he's 35 and retires any time, then the rest of the contract won't count against the cap. I don't know if he would get paid, but I doubt it.

[b.shanafan14 733]

If it is loaded in the 1st few years kiss Hossa good-bye.

Cap hit is based on average salary per season. He could make $10mil in his first season of the contract but as long as the average is only $4mil, the cap hit every season with by $4mil, not $10mil.

[egroen 384]

No. Because if player signs BEFORE he's 35 and retires any time, then the rest of the contract won't count against the cap. I don't know if he would get paid, but I doubt it.

Contracts in the NHL are guaranteed, but the team has to cover anything beyond what insurance covers (which is 7 years, I believe).

So if Franzen suffered a career-ending injury next year, he would receive his salary for the remainder. The Wings would then be able to exceed the cap by an equal amount for those years he is on LTIR.

If he retires, the salary comes off the books and he no longer receives it either.

Edited April 11, 2009 by egroen