Updated:
Franson In The Streets
http://t.co/p0okJdqpLa pic.twitter.com/yBmbNsF0bs
— SabresBuzz (@SabresBuzz) September 10, 2015Cody Franson, come on down.
You are the newest member of the Buffalo Sabres blue line.
TSN's Bob McKenzie reports that Franson is in Buffalo right now and will sign a two year contract on Thursday. The AAV on his contract is $3.3 million.
I reached out to Franson's agent earlier this week to get a confirmation on the Franson to Buffalo rumors. I'm still waiting for a confirmation.
Franson won't be getting that big, fat 5 year, $25-$27 million contract. Not this summer anyway. It's clear that his agent misread the NHL UFA marketplace for defensemen. Three weeks ago, former Sabres D Christian Ehrhoff signed with the LA Kings for a paltry $1.5 million on a one year contract. Ehrhoff earned $4 million in Pittsburgh last season.
With so many teams slammed tight against the cap ceiling, there are no more dollars left in the marketplace. The Sabres have $12 million in cap space, however, Murray likely wants to test drive Franson before he buys him on a long term deal. Franson was a big disappointment for the Predators during the first round of the playoffs against the Blackhawks. He was a healthy scratch on the Preds blue line that features Shew Weber, Roman Josi and Seth Jones. Franson just couldn't be trusted by his D coach Phil Housley and his former head coach Peter Laviolette. He never seemed to gel with his Nashville D partners, nor did he play with a lot of confidence as he previously had in Toronto. Part of the reason why he struggled so badly in is that Franson is a natural righty and he was forced to play the left side in Nashville.
The Buffalo D corps is in good shape right now. Their blue line consists of Zach Bogosian, Rasmus Ristolainen, Josh Gorges, Mike Weber, Mark Pysyk, Carlo Colaiocovo, and Matt Donovan. Rookie Jake McCabe will do his dead level best in training camp to turn heads and earn a sixth or seventh D roster spot.
Franson won't blow opponents away with his foot speed nor will he knock guys around wiyth heavy body checks. However, Franson will add immediate value to the Buffalo blue line. He plays 18-20 minutes per game. He thrives 5 on 5, PP, and PK.
At what cost though?
Tim Murray is looking for a left handed D, however, Franson has been known to play both left and right D. He struggled to play the left side last season after he was traded from Toronto to Nashville. Were Murray to sign him to the Sabres, he'd likely leave Franson on the right side and move Mark Pysyk to the left side. Pysyk plays both sides very well. Rasmus Ristolainen can also play both right and left D.
Tim Murray may be working on a trade of a veteran D to make room for Franson. Is Mike Weber a candidate to be traded away to make room for Jake McCabe to play? Stay tuned for more on that.
Franson is 6'5" and nearly 220 lbs. He is not a bomber and a head knocker like Zach Bogosian but he plays a salty, physical brand of hockey. He excels on the PP because of his boom, accurate point shot.
Franson scored 7 goals and added 29 assists in 78 games and setting a career high with 36 points. He was the Predators' third-round pick in 2005 out of Vancouver in the WHL. He was a former teammate of Evander Kane with the Vancouver Giants.
Calgary, Boston, Phoenix, Pittsburgh and Edmonton were also rumored to be interested in signing Franson. Their loss is Buffalo's gain.
I said earlier in August that I would be inclined to offer Franson two years and $5-6 million. Take it or leave it. Franson will get $6.6 million guaranteed from the Sabres.
Franson played junior hockey with the Evander Kane at the Vancouver Giants.
**
Will Patrick Kane be allowed to participate in Chicago Blackhawks training camp?
Renaud Lavoie of TVA Sports tweeted on Wednesday afternoon that Kane will be meeting with the NHL and the Chicago Blackhawks early next week to determine his immediate future.
The Hawks will open training camp at Notre Dame on September 18.
For the past five weeks, Kane has been involved in an investigation tied to an incident that occurred at his suburban Buffalo home on August 2. Kane has not been charged in with a crime.
Meeting should happen early next week with the NHL, the Hawks and Patrick Kane. Decision needs to be made before training camp on his future
— Renaud Lavoie (@renlavoietva) September 9, 2015
NHL commissioner Gary Bettman spoke publicly about the Patrick Kane situation today.
Bettman was in Toronto to announce details of the 2016 World Cup of Hockey, which will faceoff at Air Canada Center on September 17, 2016.
According to The Buffalo News, Bettman said that the NHL is presently in a wait and see posture regarding the status of the three time Stanley Cup champion.
"Obviously whenever a player is involved in something like Patrick Kane is subject to right now in terms of the authorities investigating and looking, it's unfortunate," Bettman said when asked about Kane by The Buffalo News. "It's a terrible thing but we're going to have to watch the process play out and at the appropriate time we'll make whatever decisions have to be made at the time.
"In terms of player conduct, overwhelmingly you look at NHL players and they conduct themselves magnificently on and off the ice. We, meaning the Players Association and the league, have a number of programs and counseling and educational forums in place to hopefully ensure players are focused on doing the right things -- which they do overwhelmingly. When you get a situation where there's this type of attention and focus, we believe you deal with it on a case by case basis because rarely are two of these circumstances identical."
***
Bettman added that the NHL hasn't begun its own investigation into the Kane matter. Therefore, there is no update on Kane's status for the 2015-16 season.
According to The Buffalo News:
Bettman has the power to suspend Kane for an indefinite period under Article 18, Section 5 of the CBA, which says in part "where the failure to suspend the Player during this period would create a substantial risk of material harm to the legitimate interests and/or reputation of the League."
"We will make whatever decision we have to make on the appropriate time frame that we have to make it based on the information that's available to us at the time. Beyond that, I don't want to speculate at this point."