Johan Franzen out for Team Sweden with concussion symptoms

Johan Franzen was supposed to play for Sweden at the Olympics in two weeks but he's going to miss the Games with concussion symptoms.

By Brian Stubits

Jan 30, 2014 at 9:28 am ET • 1 min read

Franzen won't be playing for Sweden in Sochi. (Getty Images)

Detroit Red Wings forward Johan Franzen made the Swedish Olympic team for the Games starting in two weeks but unfortunately he won't be representing his country in Sochi.

Franzen will not be playing for Team Sweden because of concussions symptoms he's currently dealing with according to Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press.

As Team Canada (and Wings) coach Mike Babcock would say: They have no Mule.

That's a tough blow for Sweden, who is seen by many as a very strong candidate to win gold in Sochi. Franzen has been a consistent 55-point scorer over the past few years (2013 season in proportion was about the same pace). This season in 31 games he has nine goals and 14 assists. That's some good production to lose on the wing. They don't have a tremendous amount of firepower as is up forward, perhaps the weakness they face.

The next question with no Franzen is who will replace him? Perhaps a good option would be Patric Hornqvist from Nashville. He has 10 goals and 17 assists this season in 50 games but didn't make the initial roster announced by the Swedes. The other options apparently include Marcus Johansson from the Caps and another Wings player, Gustav Nyquist.

Injuries have to be a little concerning beyond Franzen right now for the Swedes. Franzen's Detroit teammate Henrik Zetterberg has missed some action lately and the health of players like always reliable Daniel Sedin has been questionable of late too. At least their goaltender, Henrik Lundqvist, has been rounding into his usual form.