The Mule Stays
Every time I think the Detroit Red Wings are pooched for cap space GM Ken Holland finds a way to squeeze another player under it. His latest signing is Johan Franzen, who signed an 11 year 43 million dollar contract. I personally am against long term contracts like this one, unless the player is question is a franchise player (Mike Richards - good, Daniel Briere - bad) and I wouldn't put Franzen in the franchise player category. Given the economic downturn, and the possibility that the cap will drop over the next few seasons, this is a questionable move, but long term contracts are always high-risk high-reward propositions. If the cap suddenly jumps a few million Holland will look like a genius. I'm not worried about the Wings depth either. Detroit is very good at taking other teams cast-offs and turning them into solid everyday players (i.e. Dan Cleary).
posted by Jason Kerr at
3:15 PM
3 Comments:
For a guy who's just starting to find his offensive game and has potential to be a 50 goal man in a couple year 3.9 million a year could look like a huge bargain! Holland is rated the best GM in the league (according to the Hockey News) for a reason.
I also have to stop reading your post as "The Mule Says"...
With the kind of contracts that are being thrown around this deal is phenomenal for Detroit. To measure to some of the other deals for forwards like Naslund, Demitra and Mike Comrie, Franzen needs to score around 25 goals a year. If he averages that over the next 10 years of his deal, then Ken Holland is a genius. Based on what I've seen out of the Mule I wouldn't be surprised if he performs at a far higher pace than that but only time will truly tell.
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home