Carolina Hurricanes: The Second Ron Francis Trade Tree

In 2004, the Carolina Hurricanes were not going to make the playoffs. They were a long way outside, and there was no hope of making the cut. Just two years after a run to the Stanley Cup Finals, the Canes were put in a tough situation. The face of the franchise, Ron Francis, was in the final year of his contract, and so the Carolina Hurricanes traded him at the 2004 NHL trade deadline.

Ron Francis spent 16 years with the Whalers/Hurricanes organisation. His 382 goals are still the most by any one player in the history of the franchise. His 1,175 points with the organisation also lead the franchise all time. In 2001-02 he won the Lady Byng (best sportsmanship) and the King Clancy (best leader) Awards, en route to the aforementioned 2002 Stanley Cup run.

Francis was sent to the Toronto Maple Leafs in exchange for a 4th round pick in the 2005 NHL entry draft. While not a spectacular return, it wasn’t meant to be. At the age of 40, Francis was winding down in his career, and after his time in Toronto, he would sign a 1-day contract to retire with the Carolina Hurricanes. Francis was also the first Hurricane to have his number immortalised.

Francis wasn’t meant to be the scorer he had been during his glory years in Hartford and Pittsburgh. He was meant to be a leader and provide some depth scoring for the Leafs moving forward. Yet, he struggled. Francis’ struggles in Toronto are well documented, but for the price the Leafs paid, it wasn’t an awful trade-off. He shouldn’t have been expected to lead the Leafs in scoring like he had done with the Penguins a decade prior.

While in Toronto, Francis scored 3 goals and 7 assists in 12 regular season games, but that isn’t what they wanted him for. This was the end of the Maple Leafs window, and they wanted to win the Cup. In the playoffs however, Francis would only find four helpers as the Leafs were knocked out in Round 2. As of the start of the 2020-21 season, this was the last time they won a playoff series. This was also 16 years before they lost to a zamboni driver.

So, what happened with the pick the Canes got for Francis? Well, it was used to draft Jared Boll. From Charlotte, North Carolina, Boll would play 11 years in the NHL between Columbus and Anaheim, tallying 28 goals and 38 assists in 579 NHL games. How did he get to Columbus you might ask? Well, now we get to our next trade of this trade tree.