16 Facts About Ron Francis

Ron Francis is the general manager of the Seattle Kraken that inaugurated its first season in 2021.

In 2014, Ron Francis was named as the general manager for the Hurricanes, replacing Jim Rutherford, who had been with the franchise ever since the team's move to Raleigh, North Carolina.

Two years before, Ron Francis had become a minority owner of the team as part of the five-man investor group, Playmakers Management.

In 2017, Ron Francis was named one of the hundred greatest NHL players in history.

Ron Francis was drafted by the Hartford Whalers in the first round, fourth overall, of the 1981 NHL Entry Draft.

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Ron Francis played almost ten seasons with the Whalers, serving as captain for almost six and setting nearly every offensive record in franchise history.

The threat posed by the Ron Francis-centered second line, formidable in its own right, often required opposing teams to throw their best defenseman against two lines, instead of zeroing in on Lemieux's line, thus creating more opportunities for both top lines.

Ron Francis was known as one of the best face-off men in the NHL in this period, in both the offensive and defensive ends.

Ron Francis was indispensable the following year, as Pittsburgh repeated as champions, in leading the team during the absence of Lemieux in the 1992 playoffs – and in scoring the Cup-clinching goal against the Chicago Blackhawks.

Ron Francis would spend seven seasons in Pittsburgh, captaining the team twice, and becoming the first Penguin to win the Selke Trophy in 1995.

Ron Francis captained the Hurricanes to a surprise appearance in the 2002 Stanley Cup Finals and scored the winning goal for the Hurricanes in overtime of Game 1, before losing to the Detroit Red Wings in five games.

In June 2011, Ron Francis assumed the position of director of hockey operations with the Carolina Hurricanes before later being named general manager of the team in 2014.

Ron Francis is married to the former Mary Lou Robie, a native of Stamford, Connecticut whom he met in Hartford during his tenure with the Whalers.

Ron Francis is considered a popular sports figure in Hartford, Pittsburgh and Raleigh, and is noted for his humanitarian and charity work.

Ron Francis has the distinction of being the first ice hockey player inducted into the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame.

Ron Francis was pictured in the Pittsburgh Penguins Ring of Honor that formerly circled the upper level of the Pittsburgh Civic Arena.