Wow, has the term 'franchise' player ever been degraded. It used to mean a first-ballot hall of famer who you build your whole team around for a decade or more. There used to be maybe 5 of 6 franchise players in the league. Gretzky. Lemieux. Bourque. Sakic. Roy. Yzerman.
But now it means established front-line player, and there are like 18 franchise centers alone in the league? So looks like we'll have to come up with a new term for the handful of players in the league who can change the complexion and fortunes of an entire franchise. How about mega-super-duper-franchise player?
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