Ron Francis

At 61 years old, Ron Francis has this physical status:

Playing career

Francis participated in the 1975 and 1976 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournaments with a minor ice hockey team from Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario.

In the first round, fourth overall of the 1981 NHL Entry Draft, Francis was drafted by the Hartford Whalers. He was a model of consistency and tenacity, playing more than 1,000 games in 23 seasons, with one of them, the lockout.) About 7 games played in a season, he was a year ago (not counting the lockout period). On and off the ice, his three Lady Byng Trophies appoint his gentlemanly conduct. Francis has ranked second in career assists behind Wayne Gretzky (1,798), third in games played (1,731), and fifth in career goals (541).

Francis spent almost ten seasons with the Whalers, serving as captain for nearly six years and establishing almost every offensive record in franchise history. On March 4, 1991, he was traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins by Ulf Samuelsson and Grant Jennings in exchange for Jeff Parker, Zarley Zalapski, and John Cullen. The trade in Pittsburgh, where he anchored a strong second line behind Mario Lemieux, as the Penguins captured their first Stanley Cup less than three months later. The threat posed by the Francis-centered second line, while still strong in its own right, has often caused opposing teams to throw their best defenseman against two lines rather than lemieux's line, opening more opportunities for both top and second lines. Francis was also known as one of the best face-off guys in the NHL this season, both offensive and defensive. He had many key face-off victories that resulted in Penguin goals in power-play and empty-net situations.

In leading the team during Lemieux's absence in the 1992 playoffs and scoring the cup-clinching goal against the Chicago Blackhawks, Francis was indispensable the following year. At the same time, the trade that brought him him to Pittsburgh is considered to be one of the most one-sided trades in NHL history (though Hartford's claim that the players were getting the most out of the game at the time); the Hartford players never approached the number or impact Francis had on him or with Pittsburgh; Francis spent seven years in Pittsburgh, captaining the team twice and winning the Selke Trophy for the first time in 1995.

Francis went back to his former employer as a free agent for 1998-99, signing with the Carolina Hurricanes (who had moved from Hartford the previous season). He spent the next 5.5 seasons padding his franchise records. In terms of points, goals, assists, and games played, he still ranks first all-time in Whalers/Hurricanes history. His 1,175 points were more than double those of then-runner Kevin Dineen at the time of his retirement. He captained the Hurricanes to a rare appearance in the 2002 Stanley Cup Finals and scored the winning goal for the Hurricanes in overtime of Game 1 before losing in five games to the Detroit Red Wings.

Francis completed his playing with the Toronto Maple Leafs for a short time before being drafted by the Hurricanes in March 2004 to give him one last shot at the Stanley Cup. He retired from the NHL before the 2005-06 season and took up a job with the Raleigh Youth Hockey Association.

Management career

In June 2011, Francis took over the Carolina Hurricanes' director of hockey operations before being named general manager of the team in 2014. Thomas Dundon, the majority owner of the New Hurricanes, appointed Francis as president of hockey operations on March 7, 2018. On April 30, 2018, his Hurricanes contract was terminated. Francis was named the first general manager of the Seattle Kraken on July 18, 2019.

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