Ron Francis

For other people named Ron Francis, see Ron Francis (disambiguation).

Ron Francis
Hockey Hall of Fame, 2007
Francis in 2006
Born (1963-03-01) March 1, 1963 (age 61)
Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada
Height 6 ft 3 in (191 cm)
Weight 200 lb (91 kg; 14 st 4 lb)
Position Centre
Shot Left
Played for Hartford Whalers
Pittsburgh Penguins
Carolina Hurricanes
Toronto Maple Leafs
National team  Canada
NHL draft 4th overall, 1981
Hartford Whalers
Playing career 1981–2004

Ronald Michael Francis Jr. (born March 1, 1963) is a Canadian ice hockey sports executive and former player. He currently serves as the general manager of the Seattle Kraken. He spent most of his career as either a player or executive for the Hartford Whalers/Carolina Hurricanes organization, 23 years in total (sixteen as a player, seven as an executive).

Drafted fourth overall in the 1981 NHL Entry Draft, Francis played 23 seasons in the NHL for the Hartford Whalers (1981–1991), Pittsburgh Penguins (1991-1998), Carolina Hurricanes (1998–2004), and Toronto Maple Leafs (2004). Upon retiring from professional ice hockey in 2004, Francis stood second all-time in career assists (1,249), behind only Wayne Gretzky; fifth in career points (1,798); third in games played (1,731); and 27th in career goals (549).

In 2011, Francis was hired as the director of hockey operations for the Hurricanes. In 2014, he was promoted to general manager. Two years before, Francis had become a minority owner of the team as part of the five-man investor group, Playmakers Management.[1][2] In March 2018, he was demoted from general manager to president of hockey operations, before being fired on April 30, 2018.[3][4] On July 18, 2019, he was hired as the first general manager of the Seattle Kraken.[5]

In 2017, Francis was named one of the 100 Greatest NHL Players in the first 100 years of the league.[6]

  1. ^ Hurricanes Announce Five More Ownership Partners
  2. ^ Ron Francis, Four Others Become Minority Owners Of Carolina Hurricanes
  3. ^ "Hurricanes fire former general manager Ron Francis". CBC Sports. The Associated Press. April 30, 2018. Retrieved April 30, 2018.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference March 2018 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ "NHL Seattle names Ron Francis as first general manager of hockey franchise". KOMO-TV. July 18, 2019.
  6. ^ "100 Greatest NHL Players". NHL.com. January 27, 2017. Retrieved January 27, 2017.