Cardiac Cane
Fansided

Captains of the Carolina Hurricanes: A Retrospective

By Jeb Bohn

1997 Season: Carolina captain Kevin Dineen slams Ranger Ulf Samuelsson into the boards. (Photo by Bruce Bennett Studios via Getty Images Studios/Getty Images)
1997 Season: Carolina captain Kevin Dineen slams Ranger Ulf Samuelsson into the boards. (Photo by Bruce Bennett Studios via Getty Images Studios/Getty Images) /
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2004 Season: Player Ron Francis of the Carolina Hurricanes. (Photo by Bruce Bennett Studios via Getty Images Studios/Getty Images)
2004 Season: Player Ron Francis of the Carolina Hurricanes. (Photo by Bruce Bennett Studios via Getty Images Studios/Getty Images) /

Ron Francis

The Carolina Hurricanes made a free agent splash in the summer of 1998, bringing Ron Francis back to the franchise that his career began with.  During his time as captain of the Hurricanes, Francis put up 302 points (97G, 205A).  His tenure also saw the Hurricanes make the Stanley Cup Playoffs twice, including their first run to the Finals in 2002.

At 35 years of age, Francis was on the backside of his career when he joined the Hurricanes, though his importance cannot be overlooked.  He was a big-name player, though often overshadowed during his time as a player.  To 17-year-old me, the fact that such a known player would sign with the Hurricanes was astonishing.  I had been to a lot of games in the inaugural season, games where I had an entire row of seats in the Greensboro Coliseum to myself.

Yet here was an established player, a two-time Stanley Cup champion, coming to play for my team, a player who I had watched on National Hockey Night countless times.  His signing brought an air of credibility to a team struggling to establish a foothold in a non-traditional market, a team that was being mocked in sports media.

It was a big deal.

Francis was traded to Toronto at the 2004 trade deadline to give him one more shot at a Stanley Cup, marking the end of his playing career with the Hurricanes.  After his retirement, Francis spent time with the Raleigh Youth Hockey Association before rejoining the Hurricanes as their Director of Hockey Operations.  Francis went on to serve 4 years as the team’s General Manager, drafting Hurricanes’ star Sebastian Aho and trading for Teuvo Teravainen.

In July, Francis was named the General Manager of Seattle’s upcoming expansion team.

Memorable moment: This is one I’ll never forget: Ron Francis scoring the overtime game-winner in Game One of the 2002 Stanley Cup Finals.  That said, I could just as easily point to the day that he signed with the Hurricanes.  No, it wasn’t a Cup Final game-winner, but it was a huge step for a fledgling team.

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