Scouting the Detroit Red Wings: Johan Franzen

August 9, 11:46 PMDetroit Red Wings ExaminerMike Mouat

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Johan Franzen

Today's profile: Johan Franzen

Height: 6'3"
Weight: 220
Birthdate: December 23, 1979 (29 years old)
Position: Right Wing
Shoots: Left
Uniform #: 93
Contract status: Signed through 2020-21
Salary Cap Figure: $3,954,545
Salary in 2009-10: $5,500,000 

2008-09

Johan Franzen set career highs in goals (34), assists (25), points (59), plus/minus (+27) and shots on goal (246), and tied his career high in game-winning goals (8) in 2008-09. His 34 goals ranked 16th in the league and his eight game-winning goals tied him for the team lead with Marian Hossa. Franzen proved that the sudden hot spell at the end of the 2007-08 season and playoffs was not a fluke but rather the norm in 2008-09. More than anything in 2008-09, his fourth NHL season, Franzen realized what he is capable of at this level and established even greater expectations. Franzen was consistent all season as his longest goal drought (excluding injuries) was five games, and he had four-game goal scoring streaks on two occassions.

Franzen was the Red Wings first selection in the 2004 NHL Entry Draft, drafted in the third round, 97th overall, but has developed into the equivalent of a first round pick in the past 15 months. Through nearly three complete seasons in Detroit Franzen had scored 39 goals in 232 games, including playoffs. Since that time Franzen has scored 73 goals in his last 123 games (including playoffs). During that span he has set the following franchise records: game-wining goals in one month (six, in March 2008), goals in a single playoff year (13, despite missing six games in 2008), goals in a single playoff series (nine, in a four-game sweep of  Colorado in the conference semi-final 2008). In fact his nine goals in the four-game sweep of the Avalanche is an NHL record for most goals in a four-game series. He also tied a franchise record for goals in consecutive games in the playoffs (five, tied Gordie Howe and Ted Lindsay), and most hat tricks in a playoff series (two, tied Norm Ullman). in 2009-10 the Red Wings are relying on Franzen's continued improvement and looking for 40 or more goals from the hulking winger to make up some of the offense lost in the off-season with the departures of Hossa, Jiri Hudler and Mikael Samuelsson. Franzen will be the primary goal scorer of the second line, centered by Valtteri Filppula with Dan Cleary of the other wing.

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• Dan Cleary  Pavel Datsyuk  Kris Draper  Patrick Eaves  Jonathan Ericsson  Valtteri Filppula  Johan Franzen  Darren Helm  Tomas Holmstrom  Niklas Kronwall   Brett Lebda   Ville Leino  Nicklas Lidstrom  Andreas Lilja  Kirk Maltby  Derek Meech  Chris Osgood  Brian Rafalski  Brad Stuart  Jason Williams  Henrik Zetterberg