Chicago Blackhawks Place Cody Franson On Waivers

8:15pm: Chris Johnston of Sportsnet reports that it’s likely that Franson is claimed on waivers tomorrow, citing a “playoff team” that is very interested in selecting him. That mystery team apparently believes that he’ll be claimed before they even get a chance, and Johnston weighs in on why. Franson is a potential asset at the trade deadline, even with his divisive play style, and could be a free asset to flip for a non-playoff team. With his low cap hit it would be a very low-risk move for a team out of the playoffs even if it results in just a late-round pick at the deadline.

11:05am: The Chicago Blackhawks have placed Cody Franson on waivers, according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet. It’s an interesting move for several reasons, not the least of being the fact that they could bury his entire $1MM salary in the minor leagues should he clear. The Blackhawks are notorious for living right up against the salary cap ceiling, and are in a familiar position this season living in cap room created by Marian Hossa’s long-term injured reserve status.

Franson, 30, continues to draw both extremely positive and extremely negative performance reports depending on who you speak to. The defenseman once again had to wait out a contract all summer, signing a professional tryout with the Blackhawks to attend camp before signing his one-year, $1MM deal in early October. He’s played 23 games for Chicago this season, recording seven points, but still receives criticism for his diminishing foot speed and lack of defensive presence.

Despite everything that looks wrong about his game however, Franson continues to record extremely positive possession statistics. This season he leads all Chicago players in CF%, a measure of shots taken versus shots against while the player is on the ice. That’s not a new thing for Franson, who has never posted a negative shot differential in his entire career. Whether that can be explained by his penchant of throwing the puck on net from the point, or a sheltering from the Chicago coaching staff (and others in the past), Franson remains a frustrating player to watch at times despite the numbers showing he gives a positive impact on the game.

While surely the Blackhawks hope to slip him through waivers unclaimed, he does seem like a candidate for several teams. His right-handed shot, ability on special teams and still strong first pass are things needed by several clubs including places like Montreal and Toronto (the Maple Leafs of course are at the 50 contract limit, meaning they’d need to make a move to put in a claim). It wasn’t long ago that he couldn’t find a contract around the league, and nothing has really changed in his game since then. Still, there may be someone who thinks he can help them, at least temporarily.

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