Cody Franson

[613Leafer]

I want to talk about Cody Franson.

Late bloomer? Or he is what he is, and the way he played in the playoffs is not indicative of what we should expect longterm?

Historically, including this past season, he's played some of the lowest SH minutes on the team and has among the lowest QoC numbers on the team. Effectively, he's played incredibly sheltered minutes defensively, played 3rd pairing 5 on 5, and then (at least this past season) gotten PP time to boost his point totals.

In saying that... in the playoffs, he DID look quite a bit better than he has historically and was used in much tougher situations by Carlyle. So what's the thinking here? Do people think he's a legitimate top 4 guy? He's taking the next step, is a good all-around Dman, RHD with size, and exactly what we need in the top 4?

Or next season is he going to go back to being bottom-pairing McGee, slow skater, positional issues, in general a bit of a liability defensively when used against legitimate scoring lines. Because if that's the case, he's likely to get overpaid, and then sooner rather than later, Gardiner+Rielly are going to be taking his PP time away from him.

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[Loosie]

He's not a late-bloomer. He's a typical D-Man that usually doesn't hit thier prime until the age that Franson currently is. That being said I do think he fits in the bottom-pairing PP QB role.

 

[Erndog]

I wouldn't say late bloomer at all, he was 25 this past year... he's been good for several seasons, just wasn't relied on very much, or used heavily until this year really.

 

[TieClark]

2nd pairing, 1st pairing on PP.

 

[inthe6ix]

Long-term or not, he's not a PP QB.

 

[ALine]

I think jury is still out on what Franson could become. Right now, he's a bottom pairing PP specialist. Although he is young still, and has all the tools to become a reliable top four guy. Sometimes, the way Franson is handled, people lose sight of the fact that he is just 25, with a lot of upside. And a RHD, to boot. As the year rode on, he seemed to learn to be more agressive with his body, hurting guys. Needs to start rounding out his game a bit more in the defensive end. Could stand to improve there, and will need to before becoming a top four guy against top two lines.

 

[ashs]

Love watching frason play. I absolutely hated how Wilson played him, Wilson kills defensemen with stupid rules like they always must have both their hands on the stick always.

 

[TheGroceryStick]

I want to see him paired a full year with Jake.

 

[I Believe]

I really, really hope we sign him.

 

[613Leafer]

As the year rode on, he seemed to learn to be more agressive with his body, hurting guys. Needs to start rounding out his game a bit more in the defensive end. Could stand to improve there, and will need to before becoming a top four guy against top two lines.

That was a problem in previous years. He definitely seemed to use his size more this year.

Which was the frustrating thing. Because you'd look at his tools (size + good shot) and see what type of Dman he COULD be, but poor decision making, skating, and lack of aggressiveness was holding him back.

Hopefully what we saw towards the end of the season is something he can maintain/continue. I'm not sold on it though, it's just a hope.

 

[Razz]

I want to see him paired a full year with Jake.

Me too, those two seem really great together. Enjoyed Franson's game a lot last year. Hope he signs with us long term.

 

[ashs]

Love watching frason play. I absolutely hated how Wilson played him, Wilson kills defensemen with stupid rules like they always must have both their hands on the stick always.

 

[Warrior16]

Really hoping we re-up him at a reasonable price, he's a solid defenceman.

 

[calcal798]

I want to see him paired a full year with Jake.

Gardiner-Franson were arguably our best pairing in the Boston series. I would not complain if Carlyle started playing them between 21-23 mins a night to take some pressure off Gunnarson-Phaneuf and keep them around 22-24 a night. If he did that it would give us a serious top four to ice.

 

[topched]

Love watching frason play. I absolutely hated how Wilson played him, Wilson kills defensemen with stupid rules like they always must have both their hands on the stick always.

Lol it's funny how some people here suggested he's a late bloomer. Franson was a 4/5 dman playing 15-18 mins a night in Nashville on a very good defensive team. Not to mention the fact he was in his early 20s.

Franson never should have been treated/played that way under Wilson. He should have been in our top 4 and on the PP from the get go.

I'd lock him up long term. Give him 4 years... Not sure what the aav should be but I'd guess between 3-3.5.

 

[Razz]

Lol it's funny how some people here suggested he's a late bloomer. Franson was a 4/5 dman playing 15-18 mins a night in Nashville on a very good defensive team. Not to mention the fact he was in his early 20s.

Franson never should have been treated/played that way under Wilson. He should have been in our top 4 and on the PP from the get go.

I'd lock him up long term. Give him 4 years... Not sure what the aav should be but I'd guess between 3-3.5.

I could see us going as high as 4 - 4.25 for him. Will be tough to fit under the cap for this year but he'll be worth it.

Absolute worst case we dump Liles. We can still retain salary once more so we can give him away for a song and free up the space needed if our RFA negotiations end up going in the wrong direction.

 

[Antropovsky]

Long-term or not, he's not a PP QB.

His stats seem to beg to differ

 

[613Leafer]

Vote is pretty clear on what the expectations are going forward. 30-5 in favour of "All-Around Top 4 Dman".

Hopefully that's true, because it's one of our primary team needs at the moment, especially at RHD.

 

[Phion Keneuf]

Easily a top 4 Dman.

Top PP tho.

 

[Commander Clueless]

Solid 2nd pairing guy IMO. Room for improvement.

Didn't finish top 10 in points for a defenseman last year for nothing.

 

[Alexanderthe89]

Long-term or not, he's not a PP QB.

He's our best option on the point right now AINEC. If Gardiner makes a leap this year we would have a phenomenal top PP pairing.

 

[satyr9]

He'll be RFA next season if this goes to arbitration right? He's 25 and his birthday's August, so he won't be 27 until after July 1st, meaning 2 years of control, right?

Because of how well he played and the Leafs cap situation, I wouldn't be surprised if he ends up on a one-year deal. Two will be scary, 'cause if he's good for two years he'll get hella expensive (27 year-old RH Dman with offensive skills) and to try and go long-term will be more than the Leafs have right now.

 

[SprDaVE]

Definitely top 4 if he keeps improving. If he can play more consistently like he did in the playoffs, which is very physical and timely offense, there's no reason why he can't be that.

Can he regress and not take the next step? I guess that's the golden question.

 

[satyr9]

He's top 4 already, almost for sure. How many teams have 2 RH guys they'd rather play over Franson? STL, WPG, but off the top of my head I can't think of anyone else, which means there's probably at least 1-2 more. I'm not saying he's a great top 4 yet, although he's definitely solidly in there for me at this point, but I've always been a bit of a Franson fan.

 

[pooleboy]

those 8 people who said he isn't a top 4 dman either no nnothing about hockey or dont watch hockey because i thought franson took a huge step this season under Carlyle and was very welcomed... he is a force and i hope he doesn't get traded away or we will be sorry, has a wicked shot can make a good first pass.