Johan Franzen will be tough to replace for Sweden, as his six goals and 15 points in 24 international games will attest. (Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)

Team Sweden will be short a Mule when it heads to Sochi next month.

Detroit Red Wings forward Johan Franzen is suffering from concussion symptoms forcing his removal from the Olympic roster on Thursday afternoon.

Its a big loss for the Swedes, whose status among the favorites looks shakier every day as injuries (Henrik Sedin, Henrik Zetterberg) and slumps (Daniel Sedin, Loui Eriksson) slow their top forwards.

Johan is unique. Hes a tank who will stop at nothing, who has good hockey sense and great hands, Swedish coach Per Mrts said.

Mrts added that he wasnt sure yet who would draw in for the Swedes because of those other lingering injury issues.

No, I do not know yet, he said. I want to hear how Henrik [Sedin] and [Zetterber] are before we take the next guy.

There are a few NHL options for the spot:

Patric Hornqvist: The veteran winger has 10 goals and 27 points in 50 games for the Nashville Predators. He has a big body that allows him to play a similar role to what would have been asked of Franzen and he has considerable national team experience on his resume. The one problem: he has just one assist to show for his past 13 games with Tre Kroner. If hes slotted deeper on the depth chart, he might be the safest pick.

Marcus Johansson: The young Washington forward has never played for the national side, but does have experience at the World Juniors where he served as captain of the 2010 team. Hes quick, versatile and a terrific playmaker (26 assists in 53 games with the Caps) and has proven chemistry with teammate Nicklas Backstrom.

Read more from the original source:

Concussion keeping Franzen out of Olympics