Johan Franzen

Johan "The Mule" Franzén is a Swedish professional ice hockey center playing for the Detroit Red Wings of the National Hockey League. =Playing career=

Franzén started playing ice hockey in Boro/VHC, Landsbro near Vetlanda in Sweden. He was suspended for a full year after knocking down a referee, but was then moved to play with the Tranås AIF in the Swedish Allsvenskan in 1999. After one season with the club he moved to Linköping were he stayed for five seasons, helping the club win the promotion for play in the Swedish elite league Elitserien in 2001. Recommended by European scout Håkan Andersson, Franzén was drafted by the Red Wings in 2004. For the 2005–06 NHL season, Franzén played in the NHL with the Detroit Red Wings totalling 80 games for 16 points (12 goals, 4 assists) in his rookie season. His workmanlike service was lauded by former teammate and Captain Steve Yzerman, who gave Johan the nickname "The Mule", because "he carries the load". When visiting the White House with the 2007-8 Stanley Cup winning team, President George W. Bush teased the player about his nickname, turning the Swede's face bright red. In August 2006, Franzén re-signed with the Detroit Red Wings to a three-year contract worth $2.825 million. On April 21, 2007, during a playoff game versus the Calgary Flames, backup goaltender Jamie McLennan slashed Franzén in the stomach, resulting in a game misconduct for McLennan. In the following game (Game 6), Franzén scored the double-overtime winning goal to advance the Red Wings past the Flames. On March 30 2008, Franzén scored his sixth game winning goal for the month of March, against the Nashville Predators. This goal broke the record for most game winning goals in one month (5) set by Gordie Howe in February, 1952, and duplicated in January, 1956. (Howe's feat was matched by Franzén's teammate Henrik Zetterberg in January 2007.) Coincidentally, Franzén broke Howe's record while Howe was attending the game and celebrating his 80th birthday. On April 18, 2008, Franzén scored the overtime winner in Game 5 of the Western Conference Quarterfinal series between the Detroit Red Wings and the Nashville Predators. The goal put the Red Wings up 3-2 in the series. On April 26, 2008, Franzén scored his first career hat trick against the Colorado Avalanche in Game 2 of the Western Conference Semifinals of the 2008 Stanley Cup Playoffs. That was the Wings' first playoff hat trick since Darren McCarty did it six years prior (18 May 2002) — also against the Avalanche — in the 2002 Western Conference finals. During Game 4, on May 1, 2008, Franzén had another hat trick, scoring his ninth goal of the series, breaking the Detroit Red Wings franchise record for most goals in a playoff series: Gordie Howe had scored eight goals in a seven-game series in 1949. Franzén currently holds the franchise record (tied with Henrik Zetterberg) for most goals in a playoff year with 13, a record previously held at 10 by Petr Klima, Sergei Fedorov and Brett Hull. Zetterberg tied his mark of 13 goals after scoring the Cup winning goal in Game 6 of the 2008 Stanley Cup Finals.