Player Notes in the Draft (Oct 31)

The Calgary Flames decided to scratch forward Mikael Backlund on Wednesday night, as they took on the Maple Leafs, as the reports are saying that the coaching staff is not very happy with his play of late.  The Flames have cooled down from their hot start in the early part of October and now all of the imperfections to their game are being exacerbated by the losses that they have been taking.  Backlund was a victim of this line of thinking and he spent a game in the press box, despite injury troubles through their veteran ranks.

Backlund belongs to Mike S. in the draft this year and he hasn't been all that productive for him yet.  In 11 games played, the Swedish pivot only has 2 goals and 2 assists.  I am thinking that he should draw back into the line-up before too long, so sitting shouldn't be as big of a concern as his general play so far.

An undisclosed injury kept Detroit Red Wings forward Johan Franzen out of the line-up, as they rolled through Vancouver on Wednesday night to take on the Canucks.  Turns out that it was a good night for Franzen to take off, as the Wings beat the Canucks and it sounds like that should be the only game that the Mule will miss.  Franzen is expected back in the line-up for their next game on the weekend.

The injury-prone Franzen will likely now become a real concern for Chris M., who took him this year.  Franzen is usually good for missing some games every year and it has started early in the 2014 season.  Chris dropped back into a tie for 1st place, but will need Franzen back, if he is to get back atop of the standings.