Injury Report: Cody Franson : Bruised Kneecap

[Swayze*]

I don't think anyone but Cody Franson is overlooking Cody Franson's weaknesses. No one cares if he leads the team in points, put Rielly or Gardiner in his spot on the 1st PP and you'll see how the statistics swap.

Oh for sure

 

[Wendelstache]

I don't think we watch the same hockey then.

I think Franson is excellent is his own zone. He gets caught flat footed at the blue line sometimes (as all offensive defenseman do at times) and doesn't have the foot speed to close in the distance like elite players do.

Last season he had 3-4 terrible turn overs in our zone on outlet passes. They were burned into peoples minds and he has been vilified for them. Watch some games from last season and count how many proper passes he makes, how many smart plays he makes, how well he spaces out players and the puck and compare it to his blunders. Willing to bet you see a defender who is most certainly top-4 on this team.

NOT SURE IF SERIOUS... LOL

Get back on the piano Stevie.

 

[RLF]

Franson will be missed more than many think if he is out for a while. I know there is a certain number of fans that think Percy, Grandberg or Holzer are just as good...or even better defensively. You may get your wish to see these guys instead of Franson(which is a definite downgrade, imo). Reilly or Gardiner with any of those 3 makes me wince.

If people thought Dion played big minutes before, wait til you see how many he will have to play if one or two(depending on Robidas/Franson able to play, or play decent minutes) of Grandberg, Percy, Holzer are in the line-up.

 

[Swayze*]

I like watching him chase guys around along the boards AND I love when the puck flips over his stick in the O Zone and some loser blows buy him and scores.

 

[TheCLAM]

It's not even that Franson is a bad player, he's a just a poor skater. It kinda defeats the whole purpose of playing Gardiner/Rielly with him, you have one really fast defenseman and one with cinder blocks for skate. If anything it puts Gardiner/Rielly at a disadvantage

I don't see the fixation with Franson and really wish we would give Percy/Holzer a shot over him.

 

[Yosho]

I like watching him chase guys around along the boards AND I love when the puck flips over his stick in the O Zone and some loser blows buy him and scores.

He's one of the best defensemen I've seen at keeping the puck alive in the offensive zone.

This Franson hate is pretty ridiculous.

 

[Community]

If Franson improved his skating and decision making, I think he could be a staple on the 2nd pairing... Unfortunately, his skating hasn't improved and he sticks out like a sore thumb.

I know a lot of people think Phaneuf has a low hockey IQ, but I'm glad he knows when to give up on a play in the O-zone/fall back. Yeah he gets blown around sometimes, but usually he knows when to fall back and get into position whereas Franson is terrible at this and due to his slow skating is out of position a lot (when we're set in the D-zone, he's not that bad). His horrible pinches/attempts to keep the puck in the O-zone cost quite a few game last year.

 

[Swayze*]

If Franson improved his skating and decision making, I think he could be a staple on the 2nd pairing... Unfortunately, his skating hasn't improved and he sticks out like a sore thumb.

I know a lot of people think Phaneuf has a low hockey IQ, but I'm glad he knows when to give up on a play in the O-zone/fall back. Yeah he gets blown around sometimes, but usually he knows when to fall back and get into position whereas Franson is terrible at this and due to his slow skating is out of position a lot (when we're set in the D-zone, he's not that bad). His horrible pinches/attempts to keep the puck in the O-zone cost quite a few game last year.

Pretty much

Good post

 

[Paradoc]

LOL. I bet 10 games in and people here are going to wish that he wasn't injured. He was one of the main reasons why our PP was so good. Sure he made costly turnovers at the blueline, but he did more good than he did bad.

 

[SprDaVE]

Michael Traikos ‏@Michael_Traikos
Franson has bruised knee. Team just waiting on swelling to go down.

 

[Nithoniniel]

He's one of the best defensemen I've seen at keeping the puck alive in the offensive zone.

This Franson hate is pretty ridiculous.

His main problem last season was bad decision-making at the offensive blueline. There were a ton of shots fired into the feet of forwards applying pressure, cross zone passes in dangerous situations and attempted puck handlings that back fired.

However, I don't think you are necessarily wrong. I feel that problem was because he knew that should be a strength for him, so when he struggled he tried to force plays when he really shouldn't.

 

[JackJ]

Hope it lasts the entire season. Rather have Percy or Granberg take his spot.

 

[Anthrax442]

Well.. Komisarek is available..

 

[Community]

He's one of the best defensemen I've seen at keeping the puck alive in the offensive zone.

This Franson hate is pretty ridiculous.

That's because he tries to keep it in the offensive zone every single time the puck is on his side... that's the reason he gets crucified by fans because this turns into a turnover a lot of times.

If we counted the percentage of times a Dman kept the puck in the O-zone per attempts, he'd probably have the lowest percentage. Obviously I haven't tried to calculate this, but I think many people would agree with me and this shows his terrible decision making in my opinion.

Player A tries to keep the puck in the O-zone 90% of the time and is successive 50% of those times.

Player B tries to keep the puck in the O-zone 50% of the time and is successive 90% of the time.

I'd much prefer player B even though they keep the puck in the O-zone the same amount of times because player B will be in better position to defend the attacking player. Player A is also more likely to take a penalty to prevent the opposition from getting on a breakaway/2 on 1.

 

[PuckMagi]

Michael Traikos ‏@Michael_Traikos
Franson has bruised knee. Team just waiting on swelling to go down.

that doesn't sound too serious. looked like it could have been a lot worse.

franson still sucks though... i don't want him playing for the leafs this year.

 

[CoveySteele]

NOT SURE IF SERIOUS... LOL

Get back on the piano Stevie.

Well sir, as a goalie for 18 years I've learned to watch the game fairly well and happen to adore a defender who plays his position well.

On this team, Cody is for sure a top 4 defender.

 

[Suntouchable13]

LOL. I bet 10 games in and people here are going to wish that he wasn't injured. He was one of the main reasons why our PP was so good. Sure he made costly turnovers at the blueline, but he did more good than he did bad.

Let's be real, the guy scored 30 points. It's not some amazing number.

 

[Swayze*]

Well sir, as a goalie for 18 years I've learned to watch the game fairly well and happen to adore a defender who plays his position well.

On this team, Cody is for sure a top 4 defender.

Indeed

 

[Darcy Tucker]

Let's be real, the guy scored 30 points. It's not some amazing number.

and you can probably find 30+ mistakes that directly lead to goals against. he just always seems to be the guy who looks bad when the other team gets an unfortunate goal.

somehow I still like him on our team. he can get better.

 

[Mess]

Well.. Komisarek is available..

Unless he has been cut, he is currently on a tryout contract in NJ.. So is Tomas Kaberle for that matter.

 

[Razz]

Dunno what's with the Franson hate. Yes he's vulnerable defensively sometimes, but he's a darn good 3rd pairing guy who puts up points on the power play, a decent hitter and has good size. Last time I checked we don't have an offensive RHD besides Franson. This guy has our most reliable point shot.

He's a good player with us, we just have to protect his minutes, no big deal. Robidas and Polak were acquired for this very reason. The season will not be made or broken by Franson's defensive play but rather if Gardiner and Rielly makes steps forward and the Polak and Robidas experiments pan out.

 

[Anthrax442]

Unless he has been cut, he is currently on a tryout contract in NJ.. So is Tomas Kaberle for that matter.

He cut.

 

[JoeyBeans]

I blame Buffalo.

 

[Community]

Unless he has been cut, he is currently on a tryout contract in NJ.. So is Tomas Kaberle for that matter.

Gardiner - Phaneuf
Rielly - Robidas
Kaberle - Komisarek
Polak

 

[Yosho]

His main problem last season was bad decision-making at the offensive blueline. There were a ton of shots fired into the feet of forwards applying pressure, cross zone passes in dangerous situations and attempted puck handlings that back fired.

However, I don't think you are necessarily wrong. I feel that problem was because he knew that should be a strength for him, so when he struggled he tried to force plays when he really shouldn't.

His decision-making when he HAS the puck is suspect, for sure. But maintaining pressure in the offensive zone by keeping the puck alive is a strength. He needs to be smarter after he maintains possession.

That's because he tries to keep it in the offensive zone every single time the puck is on his side... that's the reason he gets crucified by fans because this turns into a turnover a lot of times.

If we counted the percentage of times a Dman kept the puck in the O-zone per attempts, he'd probably have the lowest percentage. Obviously I haven't tried to calculate this, but I think many people would agree with me and this shows his terrible decision making in my opinion.

Player A tries to keep the puck in the O-zone 90% of the time and is successive 50% of those times.

Player B tries to keep the puck in the O-zone 50% of the time and is successive 90% of the time.

I'd much prefer player B even though they keep the puck in the O-zone the same amount of times because player B will be in better position to defend the attacking player. Player A is also more likely to take a penalty to prevent the opposition from getting on a breakaway/2 on 1.

I can agree with this. Last year he read a lot of plays wrong, maybe an over-confidence thing..because he IS good at preventing a zone-clearing.

If he can maintain that skill while playing situational, he'll be incredibly valuable. Anything to prevent a speedy winger from blowing past his average foot speed.