Buffalo Sabres Player For Sale: Cody Franson

The Buffalo Sabres have little to no chances of making the playoffs at this point, so we have decided to shine the trade spotlight on a few players, starting with the defense!

If you thought there was a chance that the Buffalo Sabres would be buyers this season, I hate to inform you: not gonna happen.

With less than a 2% of making the playoffs right now, the Sabres need to admit that, while some progress was made this season, injuries and inconsistent play ultimately doomed the team to another year of hoping the draft lottery gods smile down upon the 716.

As a result, instead of being buyers, the Buffalo Sabres are once again sellers, so we will make the case for a few players who could find a new home before the trade deadline of 3 p.m. on March 1.

First up . . .

Cody Franson

3-13-16, -2 on the season

Franson is in the final year of his contract, so unless the Sabres want to resign a semi-mobile pylon to another three years, it makes sense to move him now.   As unbelievable as it may be, Franson is actually the Sabres’ second-highest scoring defenseman this season, and actually owns possession numbers that are not puke-inducing.  For example, both his Corsi (50.9) and Fenwick (51.2) ratings are far better than anyone else currently playing defense for the Sabres.  As a matter of fact, Franson ranks 52nd among all NHL defensemen who have played 750 minutes or more this season in CF% and ranks 43rd in FF%.  (All stats courtesy of Stats.HockeyAnalysis.com)

I’m just throwing this out there: Mark Pysyk ranks even higher than Franson.  Think about that when you want to argue about the Dmitry Kulikov trade.

If you want to keep throwing numbers out there, Franson owns a better GF% (50.8%) than Rasmus Ristolainen (48.2%), and both his GF60 (2.10) and GA60 (2.03) are better than Risto’s (2.06 and 2.21, respectively).

Damn.

So say what you want about Franson – lord knows I have – but the man does have trade value.  If GM Tim Murray cannot get at least a third round pick and a player for Franson’s talents, then he needs to be canned, and the more I read, the more I think Franson could fetch a second round pick, which is even better.

So who could use Franson?  Playoff teams in need of blueline depth such as the Toronto Maple Leafs, the New York Rangers, the Minnesota Wild, and the Los Angeles Kings.  The Pittsburgh Penguins are another option, depending on how Olli Maatta’s injury progresses.

Next: Sabres Current Draft Lottery Odds

The Buffalo Sabres are in sell mode, folks, and Cody Franson fills a need for many teams.  He is set to become a UFA this summer anyway, so expect GMTM to try and ship him out in the next two days.