Speculation: Sabres offering Cody Franson 2-year deal

[struckbyaparkedcar]

It's not like our defense doesn't suck either, it doesn't take a whole lot to improve it at this point.

For what feels like the thousandth time:

On a team trying to develop multiple young defensemen simultaneously, having someone who cannot cover for his partner or move above the bottom pairing - and who contorts that pairing into a low QoC, offensive situations unit - does not make the blueline better at all. Whatsoever. Full stop. Do not pass go do not collect $200.

 

[CatsforReinhart]

For what feels like the thousandth time:

On a team trying to develop multiple young defensemen simultaneously, having someone who cannot cover for his partner or move above the bottom pairing - and who contorts that pairing into a low QoC, offensive situations unit - does not make the blueline better at all. Whatsoever. Full stop. Do not pass go do not collect $200.

I don't get these posts. There is nothing to back this up and as of now what do the sabres have for an offensive defenseman on the powerplay? This is a huge weakness.

 

[Jame]

I don't have much of an opinion but that wasn't a good analysis and certainly not one that someone should use to back up his opinion in this discussion... What the guy in the video did is something you can do for every single player in the NHL, every player has good shifts and bad ones and especially defensemen will always lose battles from time to time or will be in the wrong position to stop a pass, that's just the nature of the game. At the end of the day a video like this is meaningless in my opinion because it's just way too easy to cherry-pick sequences so that they fit your view, not even to mention that there were a bunch of clips in there where the guy put way more blame on Franson than he deserved imho.

Of course Franson has weaknesses and he certainly doesn't seem to be a great defensive player, but that's just how things go in free agency, these are the only players you will get at a somewhat reasonable price or term, especially as a team that can't offer a player a very good chance at a cup. I'm really surprised how picky some people already are even though our defense is in dire need of some improvements at the moment. Outside of maybe one or two guys our defense is full of question marks at this point, with pretty much everyone either coming back from an injury, being young and unproven or not having a higher ceiling than that of a bottom-pairing defenseman. A guy like Franson, despite all his flaws, would still be an improvement over almost all of these guys.

For those who have watched Franson, they know those plays are representative... they are not outliers, misrepresentations, or cherry picking.

Franson is terrible defensively

I posted the video for those who don't know this. Who simply know the name and see the points scored.

 

[CatsforReinhart]

Nice propaganda piece, you know you could make a clip like that with just about every player in the NHL.

 

[tsujimoto74]

I don't get these posts. There is nothing to back this up and as of now what do the sabres have for an offensive defenseman on the powerplay? This is a huge weakness.

Risto and Bogo will be fine on the PP. Pysyk might be able to do something there too. But more importantly, most of the game is played at even strength, where Franson is a liability. The reason it's September and he still doesn't have a contract is because he hurts any team he's on defensively at least as much as a helps them offensively.

 

[struckbyaparkedcar]

I don't get these posts. There is nothing to back this up and as of now what do the sabres have for an offensive defenseman on the powerplay? This is a huge weakness.

Goals against stats?

The Sabres have Bogosian and Risto for RH point shots, and were always going to run PP1 through Ennis anyway.

Buffalo doesn't have the ES defense to support a marginal improvement on the PP and a colossal downgrade at ES that reduces opportunities for Bogosian and Risto.

 

[Jame]

Nice propaganda piece, you know you could make a clip like that with just about every player in the NHL.

weird.

So if I made a clip of Crosby's great plays, to illustrate that he's great... it would be propaganda?

 

[Baccus]

Getting somebody just because they are a PP specialist makes as much sense for the current Sabres team as getting some PK specialist.

I don't really care if they sign Franson as a 3rd pairing player, but since he doesn't play the left side and isn't going to be much help for the top 2 pairings, he basically serves no benefit outside of positional depth and a level of veteran experience. The only caveat to this would be if they are actually going to move Risto to the left side and expect Franson to play 2nd pairing, which is possible but concerning if Risto is uncomfortable there.

Obviously the Left D is going to be a mess this year, but Rome wasn't built in a day and barring anybody decent shaking loose leading up to start of the season, anybody added is not going to be a legitimate top 2 left side player. I'm assuming Pysk slides to the left side for the 2nd pairing and the top position will be a rotating nightmare based on whomever is the least damaging at the moment.


Can't wait for something that may approximate actual hockey from this team.

 

[Moskau]

I don't get these posts. There is nothing to back this up and as of now what do the sabres have for an offensive defenseman on the powerplay? This is a huge weakness.

You understand that Cody Franson needs a defense partner right? At all times. We aren't signing him to be a kickoff return specialist. We would be signing him to be one of our top 6 defensemen. You also understand that his defense partner would need to be able to carry him defensively because he's a liability defensively. Our defense is too thin and too young to be able to assign Cody Franson a 5v5 defense partner without it hindering the rest of the matchups. You would basically have to convert him to the left side and assign him Bogosian and Ristolainen to carry his ass around the rink which would in turn completely drag down one of those two guys. You MIGHT be able to get away with putting Pysyk on the left and having him carry Franson around but it's too early to tell. Franson needs to be in that #5-#6 slot and he needs his defense partner to be able to carry him defensively but that said defense partner also needs to not be one of your top 2 defensemen. Josh Gorges 4 years ago would have been a passable partner but I think Franson would do better with a defensemen who can skate and pass the puck because there are going to be many situations where you are stuck in your own zone with him on the ice.

I'd take the ghost of Lubomir Visnovsky's concussed brain on a PTO over going after Franson.

 

[JOHNBOY]

Don't want Franson, gotta be somebody out there TM can trade for..

 

[CatsforReinhart]

You understand that Cody Franson needs a defense partner right? At all times. We aren't signing him to be a kickoff return specialist. We would be signing him to be one of our top 6 defensemen. You also understand that his defense partner would need to be able to carry him defensively because he's a liability defensively. Our defense is too thin and too young to be able to assign Cody Franson a 5v5 defense partner without it hindering the rest of the matchups. You would basically have to convert him to the left side and assign him Bogosian and Ristolainen to carry his ass around the rink which would in turn completely drag down one of those two guys. You MIGHT be able to get away with putting Pysyk on the left and having him carry Franson around but it's too early to tell. Franson needs to be in that #5-#6 slot and he needs his defense partner to be able to carry him defensively but that said defense partner also needs to not be one of your top 2 defensemen. Josh Gorges 4 years ago would have been a passable partner but I think Franson would do better with a defensemen who can skate and pass the puck because there are going to be many situations where you are stuck in your own zone with him on the ice.

I'd take the ghost of Lubomir Visnovsky's concussed brain on a PTO over going after Franson.

Hyperbole much?

So are you saying another black mark against GMTM if he signs here?

 

[struckbyaparkedcar]

Hyperbole much?

So are you saying another black mark against GMTM if he signs here?

Oh god, the ironing.

 

[Moskau]

Hyperbole much?

So are you saying another black mark against GMTM if he signs here?

What's hyperbole about it? Who are you pairing Franson with? Weber or Gorges? You're going to have to get a ton of help from the forwards to make those pairings work. Why even play Franson 5v5 at that point?

Why would it be another black mark against Murray? I haven't hated anything he's done yet. Certain parts of certain deals I haven't been thrilled with but as a whole he's done great for a first year GM.

 

[brian_griffin]

In the clip Jame posted, I laughed at the Toronto clip 2/3 way through with the deadpan, "and that results in a rare save for James Reimer."

 

[TehDoak]

Franson is better than signing no one.

That being said, there are TEN teams within 2 million of the cap

Someone is going to break loose on the back end. For cheap

Franson either wants higher AAV or higher term. Buffalo put their best offer on the table.

Franson either thinks he'll get a better offer or he really doesn't want to play in Bufalo.

 

[Sabretip]

Franson is better than signing no one.

I disagree - if McCabe has a training camp like he did at development camp and the end of last season, it's a no-brainer that he be in the top 6. I'd rather take my chances on a top 6 of Ristolainen-Bogosian-Pysyk-Weber-Gorges-McCabe than a defense corps that includes an overpriced Franson.

 

[UnleashRasmus]

It's safe to assume a team like Buffalo would be his last choice. I would bet he's waiting on the best one year deal from a contender he can get before he'd take a chance on Buffalo. He's a good puck mover. Asking him to do more than that is really not a fit for him. Our best route to go is via the trade market still IMO.

 

[Selanne00008]

I disagree - if McCabe has a training camp like he did at development camp and the end of last season, it's a no-brainer that he be in the top 6. I'd rather take my chances on a top 6 of Ristolainen-Bogosian-Pysyk-Weber-Gorges-McCabe than a defense corps that includes an overpriced Franson.

I don't know. I will forever have a scar from the Carolina series where McKee and others dropped like flies. I don't think it is ever a bad thing to have one or two extra 5th or 6th type D that can fill in.

What happens when Bogo is out for 5 weeks, and Pysyk goes down for 3 months during that time Bogo is out? We have Georges on the top pairing and Donovan at the 5 slot.

I hope he signs. If McCabe steps his game up and everyone is healthy, you rotate out the oldest players for rest days.

 

[Jacob582]

I don't know. I will forever have a scar from the Carolina series where McKee and others dropped like flies. I don't think it is ever a bad thing to have one or two extra 5th or 6th type D that can fill in.

What happens when Bogo is out for 5 weeks, and Pysyk goes down for 3 months during that time Bogo is out? We have Georges on the top pairing and Donovan at the 5 slot.

I hope he signs. If McCabe steps his game up and everyone is healthy, you rotate out the oldest players for rest days.

I agree with this. You add depth to the organization by having young players (exempt from waivers) developing down on the farm.

 

[Wisent42]

I agree with this. You add depth to the organization by having young players (exempt from waivers) developing down on the farm.

So do I. But, with the current roster we'll have Ristolainen, Bogosian, Pysyk, Weber, Gorges, Colaiacovo, Donovan, Sanguinetti, McCabe and Ruhwedel. Add Franson to that and that's twelve defensemen of which five would go to Rochester assuming we want seven D-men with the Sabres. If we want depth, we don't want to demote someone who risks getting claimed off waivers.

I think the first six names are a lock, and I would assume Donovan and McCabe fight it out for the seventh spot. However, if Franson is in the mix that would pretty much lock seven players and demote both Donovan and McCabe, and that exposes Donovan to waivers (right?).

I'm not sure where I'm going with this other than control of your players is a factor. And that's why I believe McCabe starts in Rochester. It's not enough for him to be slightly better than a player that has to pass through waivers, he's going to have to be better by a margin.

But then again, Donovan or Cola may not be especially hot on the market and therefor possible to sneak through waivers.

 

[The Blunder Years]

By new year's i would hope to see somthing like:

Pysyk-Risto
McCabe-Bogo
Donovan-Franson
Coliacovo-Gorges

Somewhat plausible i think pisser could play LHD just fine its not that big of a deal.

 

[Jame]

By new year's i would hope to see somthing like:

Pysyk-Risto
McCabe-Bogo
Donovan-Franson
Coliacovo-Gorges
Somewhat plausible i think pisser could play LHD just fine its not that big of a deal.

A lot of different things that look unlikely would all have to happen... i would classify that lineup as not plausible

1. Sabres sign Franson, but play him on 3rd pairing
2. Pysyk plays 1st line pairing in 1st full season
3. McCabe makes teams, and plays top 4 minutes
4. Donovan plays over team leader Gorges and proven NHLer
6. 2 rookies play over 2 vets (Coloaicovo and Gorges)
7. Mike Weber disappears

I would bet against more than 2 of those things happening... 3 of them would surprise me... 4 of them would be really crazy... all 7 of them? Not plausible.

 

[Push Dr Tracksuit]

A lot of different things that look unlikely would all have to happen... i would classify that lineup as not plausible

1. Sabres sign Franson, but play him on 3rd pairing
2. Pysyk plays 1st line pairing in 1st full season
3. McCabe makes teams, and plays top 4 minutes
4. Donovan plays over team leader Gorges and proven NHLer
6. 2 rookies play over 2 vets (Coloaicovo and Gorges)
7. Mike Weber disappears

I would bet against more than 2 of those things happening... 3 of them would surprise me... 4 of them would be really crazy... all 7 of them? Not plausible.

if Risto has a break out season almost any Dman on the roster could play alongside him; Mike Weber already has shown he can disappear for a season, but he doesn't need to do it for a season just long enough to lose his spot in the top 6; Gorges is as likely to be injured by New years as anyone on the roster; Colo and Gorges getting passed by anyone for injuries/poor play shouldn't be shocking; the only 2 things on that list I'd classify as unlikely is actually signing Franson and McCabe breaking out in the top 4

if McCabe has an amazing season and plays in the top 4, everything else is kind of a likely result/cause

 

[Myllz]

if Risto has a break out season almost any Dman on the roster could play alongside him; Mike Weber already has shown he can disappear for a season, but he doesn't need to do it for a season just long enough to lose his spot in the top 6; Gorges is as likely to be injured by New years as anyone on the roster; Colo and Gorges getting passed by anyone for injuries/poor play shouldn't be shocking; the only 2 things on that list I'd classify as unlikely is actually signing Franson and McCabe breaking out in the top 4

if McCabe has an amazing season and plays in the top 4, everything else is kind of a likely result/cause

When did this happen?

 

[Push Dr Tracksuit]

When did this happen?

2 years ago