Johan Franzen progressing, aims for Red Wings’ season opener return

By @StefanKubus –

DETROIT – After finishing up an informal skate at Joe Louis Arena Wednesday morning, it may sound peculiar that Johan Franzen is going back to bed for the rest of the day.

But that’s just part of the recovery process for the 35-year-old Franzen, who is still working his way back from a concussion he suffered early in the season.

Franzen suited up for just 33 games last season after suffering the latest concussion in what is an ongoing war with the injury. But with training camp weeks away, Franzen said things are looking up for the first time in a long time.

“It feels good so far,” Franzen said. “It’s probably too early to tell until I start playing games and stuff, but I’m going at it pretty hard, trying to go a little bit too much right now actually, just to see that I can take it, grinding it.

“My threshold is getting higher and higher every week, and I tried to listen to my body and push as hard as I can, but if I get set back, I let off a little bit and start from scratch again and see how much I can take. It’s kind of just been building up ever since the playoffs.”

In addition to simply skating and getting a feel for how he feels mentally and physically, Franzen has also been receiving routine treatment in the form of an I.V. for overall maintenance.

“Just making sure all the levels are good, all the vitamins and all the fluids and all that stuff is up there, really trying to take care of myself and make sure I feel up.”

‘The Mule’ admitted that it’s too early to predict anything, but the progress should come as encouraging news to Red Wings faithful. The next step in getting cleared is the physical examination prior to training camp.

“Right now, it’s more like getting really exhausted out there and see if I can take that,” Franzen said. “The next step is the battle and getting hit, but the main issue has been the exertion when you get really tired. That’s when my head has been shutting down, so if I can take that, I think I can take a few bumps, too.”

Franzen’s teammates are encouraged by his progress, too.

Though much of the offseason talk was about the acquisitions of free agents Brad Richards and Mike Green, getting a healthy Johan Franzen back in the lineup would virtually be a free agent acquisition of its own.

“It’s awesome,” defenseman and fellow countryman Niklas Kronwall said of Franzen’s recovery. “It’s great to have him back. He’s happy, he’s working hard. He just wants to play. I’m happy for him, and obviously, that was maybe our biggest acquisition, getting a healthy Johan Franzen back.”

Justin Abdelkader, who plays a similar power forward-like game, said it’s ultimately a “wait-and-see” approach when it comes to Franzen due to the somewhat unpredictable nature of concussions and his history with them, but said there’s no easy fix to replace a hole where a natural goal scorer once was.

“Obviously, with how things finished, he’s got to get out, he’s got to get bumped a little bit, be in some contact and see how it goes from there. I think it would be a big bonus because it’s still a wait-and-see approach, but if he does play for us, he’s a perennial 20-25 goal scorer at least and he’s a big body that could definitely help us.”

Abdelkader insisted that Franzen is just going about business as if he’s going to be ready to start another season.

“I think he’s just preparing to get ready for a season. It looks like he’s trying really hard this summer. I don’t know if we’re watching every step, but we’re just getting feedback from him, but he sounds like he’s feeling pretty good. I guess we’ll see as we go into camp, but it would definitely be a big bonus if he could be healthy at the start of the season.”

And when asked if his own family was worried about him, Franzen was clear that they, too, would prefer to have him on the ice.

“Well, they don’t want to see me like I was before, but I don’t think they want to see me grumpy, be at home not able to play, either,” Franzen said with a smile. “I think they’re happy to see me improving every day, and they’re looking forward for me playing another year… or five.”