The Buffalo Sabres are reportedly closing in on a deal with free agent defenseman Cody Franson. The franchise and Franson are, per a report from The Buffalo News, discussing a two-year contract.
"According to two NHL sources, the Sabres are trying to lure former Toronto and Nashville blueliner Cody Franson by offering a two-year contract," Mike Harrington of the News writes.
The 28-year-old Franson has been a major part of the free agent rumor mill over the last couple of months. He's been tied most often to the Boston Bruins, but has also been floated as a possibility for the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Columbus Blue Jackets. He indicated earlier this offseason that he was willing to wait, presumably in an effort to secure the long-term deal that has evaded him since he was still with the Toronto Maple Leafs. Franson made $3.3 million last year and has now played on one-year deals for the last three seasons.
The Sabres, despite a bevy of talented blueliners already in place, including Josh Gorges, last season's trade pickup Zach Bogosian and the still-developing potential star Rasmus Ristolainen, could certainly stand to add one more veteran defender and Franson, most recently of the Predators, would very much represent just that.
Franson is a big (6-foot-5, 213-pounds) right-shot defender who posted seven goals and 29 assists in 78 games last year split between the Leafs and the Preds. A former third-round pick of Nashville, Franson joined the Leafs via trade in 2011 and returned to the Predators ahead of the trade deadline last year.
In Toronto, the constant offseason refrain seemed to be that this was going to be the year that Franson truly blossomed and became the elite defenseman the team kept hoping he may be. Despite averaging over 20 minutes of ice time per game and managing a career-high 36 points last year, Franson just hasn't seemed able to take that next step from good player to great. His movement skills are limited and he'll at times prove to be a liability against smaller, quicker players, but for the Sabres, who per GeneralFanger.com, have plenty of cap space with which to make a deal, he could prove a solid addition.
