Franzen's wife describes their ordeal

For those who’ve criticized former Detroit Red Wings Johan Franzen, who’ve questioned his commitment in his dealings with post-concussion syndrome, an ailment that brought about a halt to his NHL career in 2016, Franzen’s wife Cissi opened a window into what his life is like since then, and it is often a very dark place. In her blog Franzenresidence.com, in a May 27 entry entitled “An Emotional Week,… Cissi Franzen elaborated on the daily challenges faced by her husband and their family. “I don’t know where to start, but this week has been really hard and extremely emotional,… Cissi Franzen wrote. “Monday morning the kids, Lisa and I flew out to Denver, Colorado to visit Johan. He’s been going thru an intensive treatment program at Marcus Brain Health Institute, and this last week was a family week where I joined in for a lot of sessions. He’s still dealing with post concussion syndrome, and the last months have been really bad.… Franzen is the first professional athlete to be treated by the Institute, where many of the patients are war veterans. “He was teamed with three veterans, and they have all become very close to each other, sharing their stories and situations,… Cissi Franzen noted. “For me it was also great to get together with the other wives, same there sharing our stories along with LOTS of tears. I have not been crying this much in a very long time. “(The) first day when we came was a great day, so nice to see each other again. Second day – terrible and we got in to a huge fight. Probably normal in most relationships, but when you have a brain injury it adds up, and it becomes SO not rational. The brain just can’t pause and take a break when it’s overloaded and can’t recover. He bounced back to a very dark and sad place. “However, I’m glad it happened while we were there. The amazing top of the line team at ‘The Marcus’ handled the situation so professionally. They rescheduled his and my schedule completely the day after to treat him as best as they could. You could feel how they all genuinely cared for Johan, and also me.… As someone who has covered Franzen’s entire career and been offered the chance to speak to him while he’s gone through this horrible phase of his life, it’s not difficult to measure the impact it has taken on him. He desperately wants to be back on the ice and it rips at his psyche to know that he can't. Franzen tears up at the thought of never being able to again play the game he loves so much, and especially when he speaks of the difficult days when he is in so much pain it is too much for him to even be able to play with his children. Through a combination of mindfulness and meditation, the staff of the Marcus Brain Health Institute demonstrated to Franzen methods to help combat his depression and dark thoughts, and how to improve his auditory processing, balance, and vision. “We are for the first time very hopeful for the future and Johan feels much better from when he started the treatment,… Cissi pointed out. “It’s not gonna be easy, but now he has a plan on how to go forward and can also start to work out slowly again. We have learned how to handle different situations better, and the doctors and therapists are still there for us and will continue to follow up.… Fulcher Recognized Red Wings prospect Kaden Fulcher of the Ontario Hockey League’s Hamilton Bulldogs was received the Hap Emms Memorial Trophy as the most outstanding goaltender at the Memorial Cup. Signed by the Red Wings as an undrafted free agent last fall, Fulcher led all netminders in the tournament with a 2.27 goals-against average and .918 save percentage in four games. The Bulldogs went 2-2 in the Memorial Cup, losing 4-2 to the host Regina Pats in Friday’s semifinal. Fulcher stopped 20 of 23 shots and was named the game’s second star. Emms, the man the award is named for, was a left wing with the Detroit Falcons in 1931-32 and the Red Wings from 1932-34. Follow me on Twitter @asktheduffer