The Curious Case of Cody Franson

The 2015 free agent crop was one of the weakest in recent memory. Comprised of mostly depth players and second to third pairing defensemen, the fact that Cody Franson remains unsigned is curious.

In both the 2013 and 2014 offseason Franson and his agent negotiated with Leafs management late into the offseason, ending up with a one year deal and pay increase on both occasions. Since being acquired by the Toronto Maple Leafs 2011, Franson had been seeking a deal with more money and a longer term commitment from Toronto. Even after being traded to the Nashville Predators (where he began his career) prior to last years trade deadline, Franson made it publicly known he would love to return to Toronto in the offseason.

The 28 year old defenceman was having a solid season for Toronto with 55 GP, 32 points and averaging 21:23 of ice time (not too mention great corsi numbers), he was a rare bright spot on a terrible Leafs team, and looked poised to finally earn the contract he had desired since arriving in Toronto. At the time, being traded to the Predators (a playoff bound team) appeared to be a great opportunity to increase his chances of landing the big contract either in Nashville, back in Toronto or with another NHL club. However the move to Nashville may in fact be the reason he is still unsigned today.

Franson saw his ice-time reduced to an average of 17:40 per night, and an even worse 14:16 per night when Ryan Ellis was in the lineup. This may not come as a surprise, seeing as Franson went from a defence with names like Roman Polak and Stephane Robidas to a Nashville unit with Shea Weber, Roman Josi and Ryan Ellis. Although he kept up his underlying stats and great corsi numbers, Franson just never seemed to be able to make an impact with the Predators. The approach for the Cody Franson camp would be an interesting one to watch coming off the poor experience.

So now we sit in late August, training camp right around the corner and Cody Franson is still a free agent, which begs the question, why hasn't anyone signed the 28 year old? Did the experience in Nasvhille really sour his image so badly that no team wants to offer him at the very least a match to his 2014-15 contract? Perhaps Franson is trying to block out the whole Nashville part of last season and thinks he is worth the contract he was headed for following a solid season in Toronto. Whatever the reason, Franson should find a home before training camp commences for the 2015 season, it will be interesting to see not only where he lands, but for how long and how much.

What do you think is the reason Cody Franson remains unsigned? Where will he end up and what will his contract look like? Let us know your thoughts !


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Santo Claus; The Gift that Keeps on Giving

This Leafs season has a couple of ties to the Nashville Predators. On November 19th the Preds handed the Leafs a 9-2 loss at the ACC, which proved to be the wakeup call this team needed, going 9-1-1 since the mid November debacle. During this streak, the Leafs have seen improved play from a majority of the team, however, they have been led by an unsuspecting player, who happens to be a former Nashville Predator.

 Mike Santorelli was picked 178th overall in the 6th round of the 04 NHL entry draft by the Predators. Santorelli spent the bulk of his time in Milwaukee with the Preds AHL affiliate, scoring 171Pts (74G, 97A) over 3 seasons with the Preds AHL affiliate. He only ended up playing 32 games with the big club in Nashville, making his NHL debut in the 08/09 season. In 2010/11 Santorelli became a member of the Florida Panthers, and finally experienced his first full 82 game season, where he posted his career highs in goals (20), assists (21) and points (41). Following the success of this season, he would experience a huge drop off, appearing in only 60 games. During the lockout season he played 4 games in Sweden for Tingsryds AIF, and 24 games for the Panthers, before eventually ending up in the AHL once again and closing out the season in Winnipeg. It appeared as though he would end up another journeyman playing in the NHL, bouncing from team to team, never being able to find a home.

 Last season, Santorelli signed with his 4th NHL team, the Vancouver Canucks. In what was a productive season, he played 49 games and finished the season with 10G, 18A for 28Pts, while also earning league wide recognition for his play on the penalty kill. However, the theme of not being able to stick with an NHL club continued as Santorelli did not receive a new contract from the Canucks. Luckily for the Leafs, and Santorelli, this season Dave Nonis and the rest of the Toronto front office realized that depth was something an NHL team needed to do things like win hockey games.

 In an offseason where the Leafs turned their attention to addressing the depth (or lack thereof) on the team, by signing guys such as; Leo Komarov, Daniel Winnik and David Booth. Perhaps the best offseason move the Leafs made came on July 3rd when the signed Mike Santorelli to a 1yr, $1.5 million deal. In the Leafs current 9-1-1 streak, Santorelli leads the team in scoring (3G, 10A, 13 Pts) and seems to have found great chemistry on the Leafs hottest line alongside Kadri and Winnik. For the season, Santorelli has 6G, 16A, 22Pts, which puts him on pace to set career highs in all three categories. Santorelli is 4th overall in team scoring, behind only Kessel, Bozak and JVR, and is tied for 2nd overall in the entire league in +/- (+17). Also, Santorelli (along with Winnik) has been a pivotal piece of the Leafs 10th ranked penalty kill. For a $1.5 million dollar "prove it" contract, so far Santorelli is setting himself up for an "I proved it, now pay me" contract next offseason.

 It has been fun to watch the Leafs on this current streak, and all of us in Leafs nation hope that it continues. The highlight for me personally has been the emergence and consistent play of Mike Santorelli, a journeyman NHLer who is quickly becoming a fan favourite here in Toronto. It's still too early to tell if he will finally be able to land a long term deal to stay with the Maple Leafs, however, if he continues to play at the level he is, this may turn out to be a match made in hockey heaven, and Santorelli may finally have found a place to call home.

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Episode 8 - Thank You

Episode 8 of the Francis Report podcast is available on Soundcloud !

This episode features special shout outs, a recap of the past 10 days in Leafs nation and of course the post game scrum !



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