Johan Franzen slated to miss three pre-season games

The Detroit Red Wings waited most of last season to get Johan “The Mule” Franzen back into their lineup.  This season, at the beginning of pre-season, they will have to wait at least three games for their star right wing to return.

Following a knee-to-knee collisionwith Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Brooks Orpik, Franzen left the game and will be re-evaluated next Tuesday.  His diagnosis seems to be a charley horse so keeping him out seems to be simply precautionary.

Regardless, head coach Mike Babcock wondered how the Penguins would react if the hit was delivered to either Sidney Crosby or Evgeni Malkin.

Essentially, the relevance of the injury stems from his injury history, which has forced Franzen to miss time in each of the last four seasons.  Going into your draft, this history should be in the back of your mind but treat this particular ailment as merely day-to-day.