Let me do you a favor and supply you with some more "facts":
Franzen's 13-14 hot steak:
23GP, 29pts, +14
The rest of Franzen's 13-14:
31GP, 12pts, -8
This is not even including the playoffs, which would make it even worse and I'll get to later...
His hot steak was phenomenal, as it usually is. His hot streaks are also why people constantly bring up his numbers as a perennial "__ pt player."
The problem is that his hot streak consisted of less than 39% of the entire season. The other 61+% of the season you're getting a guy who plays at a 32pt pace over the course of an entire season and is a minus player. More so, that player I just described always gets prime minutes (top 6 role and top unit PP.)
Do you know how angry we all were when Cleary was getting top 6 minutes without producing the past few years? Well, guess what, Franzen was producing at a Cleary level for over 61% of the season last year. Expect he got even bigger minutes and roles than Cleary was.
So save the "effort" BS talk, because effort doesn't make up for a complete lack of production. Cleary always showed great effort, but once he stopped being effective we hated him in his role.
Additionally, let's look at Franzen's postseason trend...
Last 4 playoffs:
32GP, 12pts, -11
That is under a 31pt pace while being a huge minus.
But guess what, he has an amazing hot streak every year and he now shows effort even when he's useless!
If we knew what we were getting with Franzen, especially come April, it'd be easy to be on his side. But we don't anymore. He has a big hot streak that make his end of the year numbers look respectable, but you never know when it's coming and it unfortunately no longer comes when it matters most. Additionally, his useless streak lasts longer than his hot streak and despite this he's always given prime minutes.
So excuse me for not wanting this "50+ pt player" around anymore when the team could be improved if he was traded for a top 4 defenceman.
And to your "Wings don't even make the playoffs without him last season" comment... You could say that about the majority of the team last year.
Detroit doesn't make the playoffs with Datsyuk and Zetterberg's start.
Detroit doesn't make the playoffs without Z's play after Datsyuk went down.
Detroit doesn't make the playoffs without Nyquist explosion.
Detroit doesn't make the playoffs without the emergence of the Kid line.
Detroit doesn't make the playoffs is Dekeyser doesn't give us a steady 2bd pairing.
Detroit doesn't make the playoffs without Monster's record.
Detroit doesn't make the playoffs without Helm and Alfie.
See what I mean? It's a pretty easy statement when you just make the playoffs.