Carolina Hurricanes: The day that Gave the Franchise a Face

The off-ice impact

It’s no secret that the Hurricanes’ arrival in North Carolina came under less than ideal conditions.  With their eventual home in Raleigh breaking ground, the team spent their first 2 seasons playing in the Greensboro Coliseum, 75 miles west.

Residents of the Gate City were hesitant to adopt the team knowing that their stay was only temporary.  Fans in Raleigh were faced with 2 1/2 round trips down I-40 at a time when games started at 7:30 and lasted a minimum of 3 hours.

All of this showed during their inaugural season.  After drawing a sellout in their home opener against Pittsburgh—a game that featured 115 penalty minutes, including 3 fights, 2 misconducts, and 3 game misconducts—attendance took a nosedive.  Over their next 10 home games, the Hurricanes averaged just under 7200 tickets sold, finishing the season with an average attendance of 9106.

The team had young, offensive talent in the likes of Keith Primeau, Sami Kapanen, and Jeff O’Neill.  There was the story of Gary Roberts and his return to hockey after a pair of surgeries to treat degenerative nerves in his neck.

Unfortunately, there were plenty of questions surrounding a team that struggled to draw fans in a—wait for it—non-traditional market.  Would the team survive?  Would the league’s top talent laugh off the idea of signing with them?

There had been the Sergei Fedorov offer sheet saga, a ploy that failed to bring the Russian superstar to the Old North State.  The move garnered headlines throughout the hockey world but it failed to net any on-ice help for the Hurricanes.

Then, just over 4 months later, Francis signed with the franchise that he had broken into the league and blossomed with.

You can argue that he was well out of his prime, and I won’t argue that, but Francis was still a capable player and one of the best playmakers in the history of the game.  More than that, he was a big name free-agent and he had signed with the fledgling Hurricanes, a move that gave the team an air of credibility.

It also gave Carolina a pretty good veteran center to help improve their performance.

The on-ice impact

The Carolina Hurricanes enjoyed a 12 point jump in the standings in Francis’ first year, winning a Southeast Division title and securing a playoff berth.  While they lost a tough 6 game series in the opening round, the younger players on the team gained experience and the team began to make some noise.

Francis managed 52 points (21g, 31a), a total that represented a 35 point decrease from his final season in Pittsburgh.

The 1999-00 Hurricanes suffered a small setback, dropping to 3rd in their division and missing the postseason.  Francis, however, rebounded, putting up 73 points (23g, 50a) to lead the team.  The following season found the team returning to the playoffs, again losing out in a six-game opening-round series.

The veteran’s goal scoring (15) slowed a bit, though he matched his 50 assist output from the previous season.  He finished second on the team in scoring, trailing only O’Neill, who had put up a career-best 41 goal campaign.

That was all a warmup for what would be Francis’ biggest impact season with the Hurricanes.  In his second full season as team captain, Francis led the team with 77 points, notching 27 goals and—you guessed it—50 assists.

The team claimed their second division title in 4 seasons, earning a first-round matchup against the New Jersey Devils, the team that had dispatched the Hurricanes the year before.

This year would prove to be a different animal.  The Hurricanes disposed of the Devils in 6 games before tearing through the heart of Canadian hockey tradition.  Two more 6 game series saw Carolina best the Montreal Canadiens and the Toronto Maple Leafs, earning an Eastern Conference Championship and a berth in the Stanley Cup Finals.

The matchup against the Detroit Red Wings looked completely one-sided on paper.  While the Hurricanes had talent, Detroit boasted a lineup featuring Steve Yzerman, Fedorov, Nicklas Lidstrom, Brendan Shanahan, Brett Hull, Luc Robitaille, and Dominik Hasek.

The series was much closer than anticipated and Francis sent a shockwave through the NHL when he scored the overtime winner in Game One:

Detroit went on to win the Cup in five games, leaving the Hurricanes to regroup.  While losing in the Cup Final is heartbreaking, Carolina had done a lot of damage and drawn a lot of attention on the national stage.  This run also solidified the raucous playoff crowds that populated the then Entertainment and Sports Arena.

The Hurricanes would, unfortunately, go on to miss the playoffs the next 2 seasons, depriving fans of the playoff action that had enthralled them during that magical postseason run.  On March 9, 2004, Francis was traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs for a 4th round pick, giving the veteran one last shot at another Stanley Cup.

The Legacy

Ron Francis choosing to sign with the Carolina Hurricanes during the summer of 1998 proved to be a turning point for the franchise.  Naturally, we have no clue what would have happened had he gone elsewhere, but we can reflect on his performance as well as that of the team.

Let’s take a look at some of his regular-season stats with the Hurricanes:

• Games played: 472
• Goals: 118
• Assists: 236
• Points: 354
• PP Points: 161 (49g, 112a)

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And his postseason stats:

• Games played: 29
• Goals: 6
• Assists: 11
• Points: 17

Francis also added to his personal trophy collection, capturing his third Lady Byng and first King Clancy at the 2002 NHL Awards in Toronto.

Then there’s the impact his presence had on the team during his 6 seasons:

• Winning seasons: 4
• Playoff appearances: 3
• Division championships: 2
• Conference championships: 1

After retiring in 2005, Francis worked for the Raleigh Youth Hockey Association before joining the Hurricanes’ front office and serving various roles for 12 years.  During his time in management, he served as (in no particular order) assistant general manager, associate head coach, director of player development, director of hockey operations, and, ultimately, general manager.

In his role as GM, Francis was responsible for drafting the likes of Haydn Fleury, Alex Nedeljkovic, Warren Foegele, Sebastian Aho, Jake Bean, Martin Necas, and Morgan Geekie.  While trades never seemed to be a focus for him, Francis did pull off the trade that brought Teuvo Teravainen in from the Blackhawks.  Of course, Chicago repaid the favor with the Scott Darling trade…

The undeniable fact is that Ron Francis played a huge role in the Hurricanes’ progress over the years.  As a player, he led the team to their first Stanley Cup Finals appearance.  As GM, he brought in several players who are paying huge dividends for the team.  He is one of the all-time greats, a Hall of Famer, and an indelible part of Hurricanes’ history.

What’s your favorite memory of Ron Francis?