Helene St. James

Detroit Free Press

No Christmas cards for you, NHL goaltenders.

Forward Johan Franzen was asked about the play of teammate Jimmy Howard when something revealing came to light after the Detroit Red Wings' morning skate today.

"I hate goalies," Franzen said. "I don't want to talk about goalies. Seriously, with all my heart. All goalies."

OK, at this point, Franzen was laughing. Of course he doesn't really hate his own goalies. But who does he hate the most?

"The one who saves the most," he said. (Watch your back, Michael Hutchinson of Winnipeg, who leads the NHL with a .941 save percentage.)

And for real about Howard? "Is his (save percentage) up there now, this year? Then I hate him."

Finally, after all this, Franzen thought of something nice to say about Howard: "He gives us a chance to win."

Contact Helene St. James: hstjames@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter @helenestjames.