Sabre Noise
Fansided

Buffalo Sabres Sign Defenseman Cody Franson

By Melissa Kania

facebooktwitterreddit

Cody Franson, come on down — you’re the newest member of the Buffalo Sabres!

The 28-year-old defenseman, arguably one of the more illustrious players still unsigned through free agency, has agreed to terms with the Buffalo Sabres, according to TSN’s Bob McKenzie.

After much speculation, McKenzie Tweeted late Wednesday evening that Franson was in Buffalo and was expected to finalize a contract Thursday morning.

Thursday morning came, and according to McKenzie, it’s official: Cody Franson is now a member of the Buffalo Sabres.

UPDATE: The team has also announced the Franson signing. (9:44 a.m.)

With an AAV of $3.3 million, that’s the third-highest among Sabres defensemen, behind Josh Gorges and Zach Bogosian.

Franson was reportedly looking for a two-year deal, and that’s exactly what the Buffalo Sabres have offered him. He’ll now join the ranks of Gorges, Bogosian, Rasmus Ristolainen, Mark Pysyk and co.

It seems likely that Franson will begin the season in a top-four role.

More from Sabres News

The 28-year-old Sicamous, British Columbia native was originally a 2005 draft choice of the Nashville Predators, selected 79th overall.

After spending several years with the WHL’s Vancouver Giants, Franson reported to Nashville’s AHL affiliate in Milwaukee, where he played between 2007 and 2010. That, it turns out, would be the last AHL action Franson would see. He made it up to the NHL ranks during the 2009-10 season, appearing in 61 games for the Preds. He was a plus-15, registered 21 points (6-15) and 16 penalty minutes.

The following season, 2010-11, was Franson’s first full year in the NHL. In 80 games, he put up 29 points (8-21), registered 30 penalty minutes and finished the season as a plus-10. He also notched six points (1-5) in 12 playoff games.

Following that season, Franson went to the Toronto Maple Leafs organization, where he played up until this past season. He split this past season between Toronto and Nashville, playing a total of 78 games between the two clubs. He never quite found a niche in the Predators organization and was left to become a free agent on July 1.

Overall, Franson – a right-shot defenseman – has 428 games of NHL experience under his belt entering the coming season.

Last season, he averaged 19:37 ice time per game, and nearly half of his points came on the power play. Since he’s a right-shot defenseman, a spot where the Sabres are not lacking, it’s possible that he could be moved to the left side, or that the team could do some rearranging of its other defensive pairs. Only time – and training camp – will tell.

A few weeks ago, Matt Larkin of The Hockey News wrote about the possibility of Franson joining the Sabres, and how much of an impact he could have in positioning the Sabres to be playoff-bound.

The speculation of the Sabres’ trying to land Franson is nothing new; The Buffalo News reported it as early as August 27th, as did the folks from Bleacher Report, who discussed how much Franson would help accelerate the rebuild.

We here at Sabre Noise also discussed how Buffalo would be a good fit for Franson as recently as a week ago.

Now, with less a month until the regular season begins, and likely under two weeks until the beginning of training camp, it’s official.

What do you think about the Buffalo Sabres’ signing of free agent defenseman Cody Franson? Leave your comments below and let us know.

Next: Sabres' First Forward Line

More from Sabre Noise

Home/Sabres News