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Franzen: "I am not a goal scorer"

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Is he talking about "Regular Season" Johan or "Playoff" Johan?

This "confession" would have been more timely if it came before he signed his last contract.

Franzen has said a fair amount of stupid things in interviews, so I'm trying not to read too much into it even though it is irritating.

My bigger concern is Playoff Johan hasn't been seen since 2010. The last three playoffs he's been below a .43 Point Per Game pace. Mule had three explosive playoff years, but those may have been an aberration, not anything close to what could turn out to be his normal production. It used to be people would excuse his taking shifts off by saying "wait til he goes beast mode in the playoffs!" Now it's turned into "for the cap hit he's still not bad."

I'm pretty sure the Wings were hoping they gave an 11 year extension to a guy who's a lot closer to a point per game playoff scoring than what Mule's been scoring the last few postseasons.

Yes, I know for the cap hit he's not terrible. But given his streakiness and lack of compete level as a 33 year old I have to wonder how that $4 million a year will look in a couple seasons.

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I know your statement was aimed at another poster, but here you go:

Stats since 08-09 (Oshie's first year)

Player /age >> GP >> Goals >> assists >> Pims >> PPG

Mule/33 >> 292 >> 115 >> 107>> 205 >> .76

TJ Oshie/26 >> 292 >> 70 >> 125 >> 146 >> .66

Derek Roy/30 >> 319 >> 88 >> 158 >> 162 >> .77

Cap Hit

Mule = $3.95, actual salary = 5 m, Team Cap % = 6.96

Oshie = $4.175, Actual 4 m, Team Cap % = 5.95

Roy = 4m, Actual 4m, Team Cap % = 6.22

I would take either Oshie or Roy's effort over Franzen's any day of the week.

Now I get that they all make less than 6mil which was one of your original requirements but here are just some names with 6m cap hits who I would take over Franzen:

(look at these names, why you picked 6 mil I am not sure)

Milan Lucic, Taylor Hall, Zetterberg, the Sedin twins, Patrick Sharp, Mike Richards, Toews, Kane, Tavares.

Then there are guys that depending on the day I may take over Mule:

J. Staal, Tyler Sequin, Zajac, St.Louis, Jeff Skinner.

Now can we stop saying that for the money there is no one as good as Mule, because even at a 4m cap hit he is not the discount people think.

The fact he is actually paid 5m puts him in the company of a lot better players, with a lot more desire.

Oshie has never even hit 20 goals, Roy has not hit that mark since 2010, Staal doesn't even put up the goals or points Johan does, and he comes with a bigger cap hit, Seguin may or may not become a beast, point wise. Zajac = just as streaky, hasn't scored 20 since 2010 either, Skinner is not proven yet, seams his point totals aren't too consistent year to year, not as good as mules either and he costs more at only 21, he will be either garbage or cost a fortune in a couple seasons, and st. louis is far too old to trade assests away for now. please provide some substantial proof that we can find a better bargain then franzen

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Oshie has never even hit 20 goals, Roy has not hit that mark since 2010, Staal doesn't even put up the goals or points Johan does, and he comes with a bigger cap hit, Seguin may or may not become a beast, point wise. Zajac = just as streaky, hasn't scored 20 since 2010 either, Skinner is not proven yet, seams his point totals aren't too consistent year to year, not as good as mules either and he costs more at only 21, he will be either garbage or cost a fortune in a couple seasons, and st. louis is far too old to trade assests away for now. please provide some substantial proof that we can find a better bargain then franzen

You are picking certain stats (goals) and ignoring other ones (assists, Pims, ppg).

Franzen does nothing but score (once and a while).

Oshie, while scoring less does more and costs the same.

Same with Roy.

Did you forget I mentioned the Sedins, Lucic, Sharp, Kane, Toews, Richards? (All at 6 mil which was your original requirement which is why that list has more expensive players, you set this I did not)

I picked Oshie and Roy because they are similar cap hits and similar PPG.

You picked out a few, which I am willing to debate with you, but you picked your stats and players that fit your argument.

My point/contention has not been that mule is streaky (your words) but that his effort is hit or miss.

With Oshie and Roy you will get more effort and similar production.

But lets play by your rules:

Max Pacioretty's last two seasons were better than Mule and his salary and cap hit is 4m.

Plus when was the last time Franzen has 60+ points as you pointed out in the original post I quoted?

Hockeydb only has him hitting 59 once (one of only two times his point total exceeded his PIMS), I don't really like my sniper to have more PIMs than Points.

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Guest Crymson

I know your statement was aimed at another poster, but here you go:

Stats since 08-09 (Oshie's first year)

Player /age >> GP >> Goals >> assists >> Pims >> PPG

Mule/33 >> 292 >> 115 >> 107>> 205 >> .76

TJ Oshie/26 >> 292 >> 70 >> 125 >> 146 >> .66

Derek Roy/30 >> 319 >> 88 >> 158 >> 162 >> .77

Cap Hit

Mule = $3.95, actual salary = 5 m, Team Cap % = 6.96

Oshie = $4.175, Actual 4 m, Team Cap % = 5.95

Roy = 4m, Actual 4m, Team Cap % = 6.22

I would take either Oshie or Roy's effort over Franzen's any day of the week.

Oshie is a good player, though, like Franzen, he suffers from spells of inconsistency. Roy does not fit with your comparison. You have left out the fact that he has been in inexorable decline for the past four seasons---to the point that exchanging him for Steve Ott was considered fair---and while he had excellent campaigns in 2008-2009 and 2009-2010, his past two seasons have assuredly left something to be desired. More, he is small and and average defensively.

Now I get that they all make less than 6mil which was one of your original requirements but here are just some names with 6m cap hits who I would take over Franzen:

(look at these names, why you picked 6 mil I am not sure)

Milan Lucic, Taylor Hall, Zetterberg, the Sedin twins, Patrick Sharp, Mike Richards, Toews, Kane, Tavares.

Then there are guys that depending on the day I may take over Mule:

J. Staal, Tyler Sequin, Zajac, St.Louis, Jeff Skinner.

Now can we stop saying that for the money there is no one as good as Mule, because even at a 4m cap hit he is not the discount people think.

I agree that comparing him with players at $6m cap hits doesn't make much sense, so there's no reason to discuss this.

But yes, he is a good value. A discount? Not really, but a good value nonetheless.

The fact he is actually paid 5m puts him in the company of a lot better players, with a lot more desire.

Actual salary isn't as important as cap hit. So there's that.

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Oshie is a good player, though, like Franzen, he suffers from spells of inconsistency. Roy does not fit with your comparison. You have left out the fact that he has been in inexorable decline for the past four seasons---to the point that exchanging him for Steve Ott was considered fair---and while he had excellent campaigns in 2008-2009 and 2009-2010, his past two seasons have assuredly left something to be desired. More, he is small and and average defensively.

Franzen's does not struggle with consistency, he struggles with motivation.

He at times flat out doesn't care, has no effort, and has admitted as much, his coach has said as much.

Lets not confuse Franzen's lackadaisical style of play for lack of consistency!

As I have said I would rather have a guy like Oshie battle inconsistency while playing solid D in all zones, forechecking, and making a difference over Franzen's (or anyone else for that matter) floating.

What USED to be his saving grace was "Playoff Beast Mode" as another poster pointed out, but now even that is not happening.

If you could make Clutch a stat 4 years ago his playoffs would have been the definition, now when the Wings need him most (CHI series) how many did he score?

But the Franzen debate will go on forever like the Feds debate, some people can put up with minimal effort at times, while others (like me) have very little tolerance for it.

Edit: Roy may be small but he and Franzen play at about the same size, and I would not say Franzen is a beast in his own zone!

Edited by Opie

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Franzen is frustrating, if not maddening. That's the issue.

He has all the talent in the world. He has all the skill in the world. He has the build of a proper power-forward, a guy who could, potentially, wreak havoc in the o-zone just by sheer force of will. When he is (or was) at the top of his game, plugged in and amped to 11, he is/was the most dangerous, dominant forward in the NHL. Like, The Continuum goes Fedorov-->Shanahan-->Franzen. That's how good he is/can be.

But that's the thing.

"...can be."

I imagine Franzen's "problem" is that, really, he didn't know he had that potential in him. He came to the Wings thinking, "OK. I'm gonna just sorta do my thing, quietly get my 15-20 goals a year. Second line, maybe third line." And then, well, you know the rest. So, if you think about it, there is, in a sense, nothing wrong with him saying he's not a goal-scorer. Because, in a sense, he's not, and never was.

And yet, he is/was. Or is/was capable of being one. And, regardless of everything, we need him to be one.

So, yeah. I dunno.

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"He lacks fortitude"

"He could do so much more"

I forgot how much time u all spend on the ice and in the locker room with Franzen.

Fact is he gets paid pretty much the exact right amount for how much he produces. I expect players to live up to their price tags and he certainly does.

Many of u seem to think he's failed to meet expectations and offer up all these soft amateur interpretations of his play, but the hard evidence is he lives up to his contract. He was also never expected to be a scorer when he entered the league. Then he scored a few goals and suddenly ppl expect Hull 2.0

Fact is the wings saw a 4 million dollar player, and signed him for just that.

But then again some of you KNOW he could score 40 goals? Right? Jeez

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You are picking certain stats (goals) and ignoring other ones (assists, Pims, ppg).

Franzen does nothing but score (once and a while).

Oshie, while scoring less does more and costs the same.

Same with Roy.

Did you forget I mentioned the Sedins, Lucic, Sharp, Kane, Toews, Richards? (All at 6 mil which was your original requirement which is why that list has more expensive players, you set this I did not)

I picked Oshie and Roy because they are similar cap hits and similar PPG.

You picked out a few, which I am willing to debate with you, but you picked your stats and players that fit your argument.

My point/contention has not been that mule is streaky (your words) but that his effort is hit or miss.

With Oshie and Roy you will get more effort and similar production.

But lets play by your rules:

Max Pacioretty's last two seasons were better than Mule and his salary and cap hit is 4m.

Plus when was the last time Franzen has 60+ points as you pointed out in the original post I quoted?

Hockeydb only has him hitting 59 once (one of only two times his point total exceeded his PIMS), I don't really like my sniper to have more PIMs than Points.

My point was to find someone who can score just as much, and excel in all other categories, for up to a couple mil more. I didn't touch on the others because unless we trade our entire team away we won't stand a chance of getting them, maybe richards, but even his cap hit is considerably more then the 6mil mark i pointed out and he can be quite inconsistent as well. I didn't mind some of the 6.3 mil cap hit but picking a guy who has a cap hit the same as datsyuk is a far cry from comparable to franzen

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I'll take that to mean that you cannot answer his question.

Grow up. Franzen has never scored 60 points, and only scored 30 goals once, which was 5 years ago. So name me a player like that, because Franzen isn't one either.

I didn't answer the question because I actually had real points to make.

Edited by GMRwings1983

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"He lacks fortitude"

"He could do so much more"

I forgot how much time u all spend on the ice and in the locker room with Franzen.

Fact is he gets paid pretty much the exact right amount for how much he produces. I expect players to live up to their price tags and he certainly does.

Many of u seem to think he's failed to meet expectations and offer up all these soft amateur interpretations of his play, but the hard evidence is he lives up to his contract. He was also never expected to be a scorer when he entered the league. Then he scored a few goals and suddenly ppl expect Hull 2.0

Fact is the wings saw a 4 million dollar player, and signed him for just that.

But then again some of you KNOW he could score 40 goals? Right? Jeez

True. But the Wings did not hand out an 11-year extension based on how he was when he entered the league. They did it during his beast mode playoff years. And while he earns his cap hit now, will he in 3 or 4 years?

That's the problem I have with people referring only to his cap hit and saying he's a value for the money while ignoring term. If it were a 5 year contract it would be more true, but his contract is a cheat. His cap hit is artificially low because of the length and backdiving. So right now I agree $4 mill a year isn't so bad for his production, but it comes at a cost because short of him retiring early to Sweden, the Wings are paying $4 mill a year until 2020.

What will the 38 year old $4 mill a year Franzen look like? I don't really know, but based on his effort as a 33 year old, I'm not optimistic.

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True. But the Wings did not hand out an 11-year extension based on how he was when he entered the league. They did it during his beast mode playoff years. And while he earns his cap hit now, will he in 3 or 4 years?

That's the problem I have with people referring only to his cap hit and saying he's a value for the money while ignoring term. If it were a 5 year contract it would be more true, but his contract is a cheat. His cap hit is artificially low because of the length and backdiving. So right now I agree $4 mill a year isn't so bad for his production, but it comes at a cost because short of him retiring early to Sweden, the Wings are paying $4 mill a year until 2020.

What will the 38 year old $4 mill a year Franzen look like? I don't really know, but based on his effort as a 33 year old, I'm not optimistic.

maybe he is preserving his strength so he can still be effective at 38 :)

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True. But the Wings did not hand out an 11-year extension based on how he was when he entered the league. They did it during his beast mode playoff years. And while he earns his cap hit now, will he in 3 or 4 years?

That's the problem I have with people referring only to his cap hit and saying he's a value for the money while ignoring term. If it were a 5 year contract it would be more true, but his contract is a cheat. His cap hit is artificially low because of the length and backdiving. So right now I agree $4 mill a year isn't so bad for his production, but it comes at a cost because short of him retiring early to Sweden, the Wings are paying $4 mill a year until 2020.

What will the 38 year old $4 mill a year Franzen look like? I don't really know, but based on his effort as a 33 year old, I'm not optimistic.

Well I don't own a crystal ball so I really can't say how he'll play at 38. Nor am I a pro scout or coach, so I have no idea if he has a floating problem or if he's even capable of a higher level of play at this point. What I can say is he earns his paycheck based on the stats.

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Well I don't own a crystal ball so I really can't say how he'll play at 38. Nor am I a pro scout or coach, so I have no idea if he has a floating problem or if he's even capable of a higher level of play at this point. What I can say is he earns his paycheck based on the stats.

That's kinda my point. His paycheck or his cap hit?

Last season his paycheck was $5.25 million.

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I did if the price was right. What's wrong with that?

Did you think they were going to make less than they did? Or were you pipedreaming? A) Everybody with any sense knew that they were going to get paid what they did. B) Everybody else should have listened to the guys who knew better. C) Anybody who adamantly thought they'd make less than they did, in spite of what more knowledgeable people said, has a woefully inadequate understanding of what physically large, moderately talented, UFAs make in the NHL these days.

But the original point I was trying to make is that most people knew Clarkson and Clowe were going to get paid A LOT, in spite their limited success, but wanted them anyway for some stupid reason. Then these same people have the gall to turn around and jump on Franzen, who's only ever made less and produced WAY more than either of them in their respective careers. Neither of these two are known for their versatility either...so you can't really use the "When Franzen isn't scoring he's not doing anything" argument either.

Bitching about Franzen, while wanting a worse player for more money makes one both foolish and hypocritical. If the shoe fits, wear it. If not, then don't.

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I did if the price was right. What's wrong with that?

But the price wasn't right... Maybe we should have paid Brunner 3.5 mil, hey the price was right. s*** bertuzzi almost hit 100 points at one point give him 5 mil, you never know... I know it's a bit of an exaggeration but the point is the same. Why didn't we sign flip again? The price WASN'T right, clowe and Clarkson got paid above their respective worth, because they took advantage of a depleted free agency. Simple as that, the price was too high, that's why they ended up on the team's they ended up on

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I know, he's better than either and gets paid less. That's why I wanted to know if some of those who don't like Franzen wanted either of them.

It's a lame angle.

- Franzen has issues. They bother a lot of people. This is no secret. Babcock has stopped just short of calling Franzen out in the media.

- The big rub for people is, as harold said, that a 38-year-old Franzen is a scary thought. (Bad scary, not good scary.) The implied argument, or thought, being - y'know, it might really be worth trading the guy before he gets to 38. People find this offensive, etc. etc.

- I get the point you're trying to make re: Clarkson and Clowe, but, again, it's lame. Maybe people knew they'd get paid like they did. What does that prove? That the people taking issue with Franzen are wrong in everything they say about the issue? People wanted Clarkson on this team because we don't really have a Clarson. Same for Clowe.

- My head hurts, which is why this post sucks. But hopefully you catch my drift. Which is that Franzen is a terrible human being. Terrible, terrible, terrible.

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But the price wasn't right... Maybe we should have paid Brunner 3.5 mil, hey the price was right. s*** bertuzzi almost hit 100 points at one point give him 5 mil, you never know... I know it's a bit of an exaggeration but the point is the same. Why didn't we sign flip again? The price WASN'T right, clowe and Clarkson got paid above their respective worth, because they took advantage of a depleted free agency. Simple as that, the price was too high, that's why they ended up on the team's they ended up on

So because teams overpaid for those guys, that means we should forgive Franzen's laziness? Clowe and Clarkson don't have Franzen's shooting skills. They're just big, bruising forwards. I don't remember saying that those guys could score 30 or 40 goals here.

None of this will quiet Franzen's detractors. Like I said, a guy that doesn't look like he's busting his ass on every shift is an easy target for fans to get angry at.

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And here is where a lot of Franzen is like Player X comparisons fail, when Z is not scoring, or as you say taking "days off", he is still one of the best defensive forwards in the game.

Franzen when not scoring is one of the biggest wastes of space on the ice.

All you really need to see is him with the puck between the red line and the offensive blue line, if he flips it in the zone and barely skates after it, you are not getting much from him that game.

If he protects the puck and gains the zone, or dumps and chases it, you know he is in the game mentally.

However, when he is not "in it to win it" he is better served in the press box.

I also do not understand the posts about him having size and play maker ability.

When he loafs, he does not create plays, and he almost never uses his size, so how skills he doesn't really use make up for him taking shifts and games off is really confusing to me.

As I have said numerous times on this forum, you take Franzen and give him Tootoo, Abby, Cleary, or Helm's heart and desire and you have an all world talent.

As it is right now, you have a very talented player who often times has little effort and desire.

I can excuse a lack of talent, like Helm's hands of stone, he just doesn't have hands of a Franzen or Bertuzzi even, but I have a very hard time excusing lack of effort!

This needs to be quoted again.

Everyone has the right to their own opinion, but I can't believe people try to justify Franzen's bad attitude/laziness.

It really makes think that these people don't actually watch the games and just check the score sheet in the morning.

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It's a lame angle.

- Franzen has issues. They bother a lot of people. This is no secret. Babcock has stopped just short of calling Franzen out in the media.

- The big rub for people is, as harold said, that a 38-year-old Franzen is a scary thought. (Bad scary, not good scary.) The implied argument, or thought, being - y'know, it might really be worth trading the guy before he gets to 38. People find this offensive, etc. etc.

- I get the point you're trying to make re: Clarkson and Clowe, but, again, it's lame. Maybe people knew they'd get paid like they did. What does that prove? That the people taking issue with Franzen are wrong in everything they say about the issue? People wanted Clarkson on this team because we don't really have a Clarson. Same for Clowe.

- My head hurts, which is why this post sucks. But hopefully you catch my drift. Which is that Franzen is a terrible human being. Terrible, terrible, terrible.

Saying someones angle is lame is a lame angle.

The point is: Franzen at $4 > Clarkson at $5.25, regardless of whether u perceive Franzen to float now and then or not.

Again, none of you have any idea how Franzen will play at 38. Some players drop off as early as 32 and some can play top lines till they're 40. Of course he'll slow with age, but none of us know which Franzen will be, so it's kind of pointless to speculate.

So because teams overpaid for those guys, that means we should forgive Franzen's laziness? Clowe and Clarkson don't have Franzen's shooting skills. They're just big, bruising forwards. I don't remember saying that those guys could score 30 or 40 goals here.

None of this will quiet Franzen's detractors. Like I said, a guy that doesn't look like he's busting his ass on every shift is an easy target for fans to get angry at.

It doesn't forgive anything. No player is perfect. Do I wish Franzen were less streaky? Yes. Do I wish Zetterberg would shoot more? Yes. Did I wish Cleary would fall down less? Yes. Do I wish Sammy wouldn't shoot it directly at the logo? Yes. Do I wish Ericsson would throw bigger hits? Yes.

Fact is, lazy or not. They overpaid. We didn't. Franzen is the better deal among those players.

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It's a lame angle.

- Franzen has issues. They bother a lot of people. This is no secret. Babcock has stopped just short of calling Franzen out in the media.

- The big rub for people is, as harold said, that a 38-year-old Franzen is a scary thought. (Bad scary, not good scary.) The implied argument, or thought, being - y'know, it might really be worth trading the guy before he gets to 38. People find this offensive, etc. etc.

- I get the point you're trying to make re: Clarkson and Clowe, but, again, it's lame. Maybe people knew they'd get paid like they did. What does that prove? That the people taking issue with Franzen are wrong in everything they say about the issue? People wanted Clarkson on this team because we don't really have a Clarson. Same for Clowe.

- My head hurts, which is why this post sucks. But hopefully you catch my drift. Which is that Franzen is a terrible human being. Terrible, terrible, terrible.

What it proves it that many of the people who criticize Franzen for being inconsistent, one-dimensional, etc. etc. etc. actually wanted players who are MORE inconsistent, one-dimensional, etc. etc. etc. As such, it's hard to believe that their criticism of Franzen is based on these issues (as you say) and not some irrational dislike for a guy who has, nonetheless, shown that he's a very effective player signed to a very team friendly cap hit.

Now on to other silly criticisms I've read on this thread. Of course Franzen won't play up to his contract when he's 40. Neither will Zetterberg. Or Kovalchuk (had he sayed). Or anybody else signed to a backdiving contract. The reason that GMs were willing to sign them were twofold. First, because they wanted to keep good players. Two, because they hoped that the early benefits of such contracts would outweigh the negative aspects later on. Furthermore if one looks at backdiving contracts relatively, it's not hard to argue that 40 year old Franzen's 3.9 million dollar cap hit will be MORE bearable than 40 year old Zetterberg's 6.08 million dollar hit. Of course time will tell, but thus far in their careers Franzen's production has stayed relatively consistent from year to year (hovering right around he career average) while Zetterberg's has fluctuated greatly. Mathematically Frazen's standard deviation is much lower, suggesting that from year to year his point production is actually MORE consistent (e.g. predictable) with his average than Zetterberg's. Therefore, 40 year old Franzen is (statistically) more likely to play closer to the level at which he earned his lifetime contract than is 40 year old Zetterberg. This would obviously make his overpayment MORE bearable.

Edited by kipwinger

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