Johan Franzén

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Position Centre/Left Wing
Shoots Left
Nickname(s) The Mule, Franzenstein, Shrek
Height
Weight		 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
220 lb (100 kg/15 st 10 lb)
NHL Team Detroit Red Wings
Nationality Flag of Sweden Sweden
Born December 23, 1979 (1979-12-23) (age 28),
Vetlanda, Sweden
NHL Draft 97th overall, 2004
Detroit Red Wings
Pro career 2001 – present

Johan Franzén (pronounced /jaʊ.ɑn fɹɑnzɛn/, born December 23, 1979(1979-12-23), in Vetlanda, Sweden) is a Swedish professional ice hockey center currently playing for the Detroit Red Wings of the National Hockey League.

Contents

[edit] Playing career

Franzén started playing ice hockey in Boro/VHC, Landsbro near Vetlanda in Sweden. He was suspended for a full year after knocking down a referee, but was then moved to play with the Tranås AIF in the Swedish Allsvenskan in 1999. After one season with the club he moved to Linköping were he stayed for five seasons, helping the club win the promotion for play in the Swedish elite league Elitserien in 2001. Recommended by European scout Håkan Andersson,[1] Franzén was drafted by the Red Wings in 2004. For the 2005–06 season, Franzén played in the NHL with the Detroit Red Wings totalling 80 games for 16 points (12 goals, 4 assists) in his rookie season.[2]

In August 2006, Franzén re-signed with the Detroit Red Wings to a three-year contract worth $2.825 million.[3][4] On April 21, 2007, during a playoff game versus the Calgary Flames, backup goaltender Jamie McLennan slashed Franzén in the stomach, resulting in a game misconduct for McLennan.[5] In the following game (Game 6), Franzén scored the double-overtime winning goal to advance the Red Wings past the Flames.

On March 30, 2008, Franzén scored his sixth game winning goal for the month of March, against the Nashville Predators. This goal broke the record for most game winning goals in one month (5) set by Gordie Howe in February, 1952, and duplicated in January, 1956. (Howe's feat was matched by Franzén's teammate Henrik Zetterberg in January, 2007.) Coincidentally, Franzén broke Howe's record while Howe was attending the game and celebrating his 80th birthday.[6]

On April 18, 2008, Franzén scored the overtime winner in Game 5 of the Western Conference Quarterfinal series between the Detroit Red Wings and the Nashville Predators. The goal put the Red Wings up 3-2 in the series.

On April 26, 2008, Franzén scored his first career hat trick against the Colorado Avalanche in Game 2 of the Western Conference Semifinals of the 2008 Stanley Cup Playoffs. That was the Wings' first playoff hat trick since Darren McCarty did it six years prior (18 May 2002) — also against the Avalanche — in the 2002 Western Conference finals. During Game 4, on May 1, 2008, Franzén had another hat trick, scoring his ninth goal of the series, breaking the Detroit Red Wings franchise record for most goals in a playoff series: Gordie Howe had scored eight goals in a seven-game series in 1949.[7]

Franzén currently holds the franchise record (tied with Henrik Zetterberg) for most goals in a playoff year with 13, a record previously held at 10 by Petr Klima, Sergei Federov and Brett Hull.[8] Zetterberg tied his mark of 13 goals after scoring the Cup winning goal in Game 6 of the 2008 Stanley Cup Finals.

[edit] Awards

  • Gold medal at the 2006 World Championships.
  • In 2006, Franzen was named "Detroit Red Wings Rookie of the Year" by the Detroit Sports Broadcasters' Association for his play during the 2005–06 season.
  • Stanley Cup with Detroit Red Wings in 2008

[edit] Records

  • Elitserien record for plus/minus, 2004 (+24)
  • Detroit Red Wings record for most game winning goals in one month, March, 2008 (6)
  • Detroit Red Wings record for most goals in a single playoff series (9)
  • Detroit Red Wings record for consecutive playoff games with a goal (5, shared with Gordie Howe and Ted Lindsay)
  • NHL record for most goals in a 4 game playoff series (9)
  • Detroit Red Wings record for most goals in a single playoff year (13 - tied w/ Henrik Zetterberg)

[edit] Career statistics

    Regular season   Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1999–00 Tranås AIF Swe-2 14 2 9 11 6 — — — — —
2000–01 Linköpings HC Swe-2 41 12 20 32 26 10 3 3 6 0
2001–02 Linköpings HC SEL 36 2 6 8 64 — — — — —
2002–03 Linköpings HC SEL 37 2 4 6 14 — — — — —
2002–03 Linköpings HC Swe-2 — — — — — 10 1 4 5 4
2003–04 Linköpings HC SEL 49 12 18 30 26 5 0 1 1 8
2004–05 Linköpings HC SEL 43 7 7 14 45 6 2 0 2 16
2005–06 Detroit Red Wings NHL 80 12 4 16 36 6 1 2 3 4
2006–07 Detroit Red Wings NHL 69 10 20 30 37 18 3 4 7 10
2007–08 Detroit Red Wings NHL 72 27 11 38 51 16 13 5 18 14
SEL totals 165 23 35 58 149 11 2 1 3 24
NHL totals 221 49 35 84 124 40 17 11 28 14

Stats as of the end of the 2007–08 regular season[2][9]

[edit] International play

Medal record
World Championships
Gold 2006 Latvia Team

Franzén has played for Sweden in:

[edit] International statistics

Year Team Event   GP G A Pts PIM
2005 Sweden WC 5 1 0 1 0
2006 Sweden WC 8 0 3 3 12
Senior int'l totals 13 1 3 4 12

Statistics as of September 22, 2006[2][9]

[edit] References

  1. ^ Tough as a Mule. Detroit Free Press. Retrieved on 2007-05-25.
  2. ^ a b c Johan Franzén. Elite Prospects. Retrieved on 2006-08-08.
  3. ^ Wings lock up Franzen. The Globe and Mail (2006-08-25). Retrieved on 2006-08-25.
  4. ^ Franzen inks three-year deal. Detroit Red Wings (2006-08-28). Retrieved on 2006-09-22.
  5. ^ Red Wings grab four-goal win and 3-2 series lead. ESPN.com (2007-04-21). Retrieved on 2008-06-08.
  6. ^ Franzen Breaks Howe's GWG Record. redwings.nhl.com (2008-03-30). Retrieved on 2008-04-29.
  7. ^ Game Recap of Game 4 of the Detroit-Colorado Western Conference Semifinals.
  8. ^ Dallas 1, Detroit 4. ESPN.com (2008-05-08). Retrieved on 2008-05-25.
  9. ^ a b Johan Franzén - player profile and career stats. European Hockey.Net. Retrieved on 2006-09-22.

[edit] External links