Cody Franson Signs 1-Year Deal

 

What Do They Get

• Finished 8th in points among defencemen last year, despite being scratched for three games, and playing two minutes less per game than everybody in the Top 40 (other than Brent Burns, who actually played Right Wing).
• Furthermore, was third in even strength points, and the second most productive powerplay point man.
• He did all of the above with a career low 2.6 shooting percentage, combined with only about half of his shot attempts even hitting the next. This seeems bad, but on a team that was as lucky with their shots as the Leafs last year, having someone with a probable rise is a good thing.
• Other than Jake Gardiner, the Leafs had more control of shots on net with Franson on the ice than any other defenenceman.
• Ended more shifts in the offensive zone (49%) than he started (45.9%).
• Finished third on the Leafs in hits, took just four minor penalties, and had a high amount of "puck interactions" (giveaways+takeaways) that saw him lead the team in takeaways.
• Lead all Leafs defencemen in playoff points with six, and was 11th in the league despite not escaping the first round.
• And the craziest stat of all. Since joining the league, he is second among regular defencemen in even strength point production, only behind Kris Letang.

Financial Thoughts

• I’m not even going to bother making a list of comparables to Cody Franson’s $2 million salary, because you’ll be hard pressed to find anybody his age, making that little, that’s close to as valuable as a player. You should know at this point that this wasn’t a negotiation relevant to his talent level.
• A one year deal is a gift and a curse. On one hand, it keeps his dollar figure low, and makes it so the Leafs retain his rights next season instead of him walking as a free agent. On the other hand, It gives him arbitration rights in a year where the Leafs need to sign Phil Kessel, Dave Bolland, Nikolai Kulemin, Jay McClement, Mason Raymond, Joe Colborne, Dion Phaneuf, Mark Fraser, Jake Gardiner, Paul Ranger, and James Reimer. Even if he doesn’t opt for arbitration, a repeat of last year’s play will lead to a big contract expectation.
• If you need any proof of the difference leverage makes: Tyler Bozak and David Clarkson combine for a cap hit of 9.45 million, attached to 5 and 7 year deals. Nazem Kadri (RFA), Paul Ranger (NHL comeback, preferred Toronto), Mason Raymond (PTO) and Cody Franson (RFA) combine for a total cap hit of 6.9 million, with Kadri’s two year deal being the only multi year given.
• On a similar point to the above, Cody Franson makes half of what Tyler Bozak does this year, despite outscoring him while playing 100 less minutes, on defence instead of with van Riemsdyk and Kessel on the first line. Crazy.
• If Capgeek is right, and it usually is, the Leafs are now $1,004,187 over the Salary Cap. This is with 14 forwards and 8 defencemen. Sending down Smith and Holzer brings them to 13/7 and gives about $275,000 in cap space. With David Clarkson’s suspension. a defenceman will might have to go up for a few games, but its doable (assuming Orr and McLaren are back in time. If not, then there’s still more shuffling to do).

Conclusion