Detroit forward Johan Franzen will be out of the lineup on Tuesday when the Wings take on the Ducks, head coach Mike Babcock announced.
Franzen is on “concussion protocol” following a high hit from Tampa Bay defenseman Radko Gudas during a 3-0 loss in Detroit on Sunday. The incident occurred early in the second period and, after Gudas went unpenalized, Franzen blew up at officials and earned a unsportsmanlike conduct penalty.
Franzen then left the game and didn’t return, finishing with just 6:50 TOI.
“All those guys that get bumped in the head — you know what it’s like in the league now? They’re gone forever, it seems like. So I don’t know what that means,” Babcock told the Detroit Free Press following the game. “I don’t know, protocol-wise, what’ll happen. We’ll figure that out.”
It remains unclear if the Wings will recall a forward from AHL Grand Rapids to replace Franzen in the lineup. The 33-year-old Swede has nine goals and 22 points in 30 games this year, averaging just over 17 minutes per night.
Franzen will now join a pretty sizable list of injured Wings, joining Henrik Zetterberg, Stephen Weiss, Danny DeKeyser and Darren Helm on the shelf. Justin Abdelkader is also currently out, undergoing the same concussion protocol as Franzen.