Rick Dhaliwal of News 1130 in Vancouver spoke to Cody Franson’s agent (presumably still Gerry Johannson of the Sports Corporation) and reports that interest has increased in the free agent defender recently, and he could sign in the next few weeks. The Canucks aren’t in the running, and it’s still to be seen whether Franson will get a guaranteed contract or have to settle for a professional tryout.
It’s been quite for the 30-year old Franson over the past few months in a repeat of the 2015 offseason. That year he had to wait until September 10th to sign a two-year deal with the Sabres, and it seems as though a similar outcome is on the horizon. With teams starting to announce the schedule for their training camps, whoever does sign Franson will want him under contract and ready to go over the next two weeks. The puck-mover remains one of the most divisive players in hockey, with some seeing him as a solid offensive threat from the back end that can help drive possession, and others believing his defensive deficiencies far outweigh any potential scoring ability.
We ranked Franson 22nd on our list of the Top 50 Free Agents, projecting a two-year $5MM deal for him. While it’s still not out of the question for him to sign a deal worth that much—his September contract in 2015 was for $6.65MM—the former Buffalo Sabres defenseman may have to settle for a one-year contract this time around. Even as we see much older players like Francois Beauchemin sign, Franson remains one of the top names on the open market. It’s not clear who would be interested, but there are several teams who could afford to add another depth option, especially one that is right-handed.