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| 1981 NHL DRAFT PICK |
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Ron Francis
Selected in first round
No.
4 overall by Hartford Whalers
Born March 1, 1963
 | Position:
Center
Height: 6-1 Weight: 175
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| BEFORE THE DRAFT |
Last Team:
Sault Ste. Marie (OMJHL)
Birthplace: Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario (Canada)
Hometown:
Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario |
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| PRE-DRAFT
STATISTICS | | Year |
Team | League |
GP | G |
A | TP |
PIM | | 1979-80 |
Sault Ste. Marie | Ont. AAA |
45 | 57 |
92 | 149 |
-- | | 1980-81 |
Sault Ste. Marie | OMJHL |
64 | 26 |
43 | 69 |
33 |
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PRE-DRAFT AWARDS AND HONORS
Miscellaneous: Rated in The Hockey News draft preview issue as
No. 5 overall prospect and No. 3 OMJHL prospect for 1981 NHL draft. ... Was
Sault Ste. Marie's second-round pick, No. 15 overall, in 1980 OMJHL priority
selection. |
| NHL CAREER |
Debut: November 14, 1981 (Washington at
Hartford)
Numbers: 4, 10 (number retired), 21 (Hart./Car.); 9, 10
(Pittsburgh);
10 (Toronto)
Stanley Cup: 1991, 1992.
Status: Retired September 14, 2005 |
| CAREER NHL STATISTICS |
| Years | Teams |
GP | G |
A | TP |
PIM | | 1981-2004 |
HAR/CAR, PIT, TOR | 1,731 |
549 | 1,249 |
1,798 | 979 |
|
| CAREER NHL PLAYOFF STATISTICS |
| Years | Teams |
GP | G |
A | TP |
PIM | | 1986-2002 |
HAR/CAR, PIT, TOR | 171 |
46 | 97 |
143 | 95 |
|
NHL
AWARDS AND HONORS
Lady Byng Trophy: 1995, 1997-98 (Pittsburgh),
2001-02 (Carolina)
Selke Trophy: 1995 (Pittsburgh)
King Clancy
Trophy (Service): 2001-02 (Carolina)
NHL Alka-Seltzer Plus Award
(+/- Leader): 1995 (Pittsburgh)
NHL Foundation Award (Service): 2001-02
(Carolina)
All-Star Game: 1983, 1985, 1986 (injured, did not play), 1990 (Hart.), 1996 (Pittsburgh)
Stanley Cup Finals (Lost): 2002 (Carolina)
Hartford Kravitz Award (MVP): 1982-83, 1984-85, 1985-86, 1989-90
Hart. 3-Stars Leader: 1983-84, 1984-85, 1985-86, 1987-88,
1989-90
Hart. Booster Club MVP: 1982-83, 1984-85, 1985-86, 1989-90
Hart. Favorite Whaler Award: 1982-83,
1983-84, 1984-85, 1987-88
Hartford Founders Trophy (Community Service):
1985-86
Pittsburgh MVP: 1993-94, 1997-98
(co-winner with Jaromir Jagr)
Pittsburgh Player's Player Award: 1993-94,
1995, 1995-96, 1997-98
Pittsburgh Caggiano Award (Home 3-Stars Leader):
1993-94
Pittsburgh Bastien Award (Good Guy, Media Vote): 1997-98
Pittsburgh Bob Johnson Award (Dedication): 1995 (co-winner, inaugural
award), 1997-98
Pitt. DeBartolo Award (Community Service): 1995
(co-winner)
Hartford/Carolina Captain: Feb. 21, 1985, until Dec. 6, 1990, and Oct.
1, 1999, until March 9, 2004
Pittsburgh Captain:
Jan. 19, 1995, until June 20, 1995, and October 1997 until July 13, 1998
NHL Records: Most consecutive 50-point seasons (22, shares record with
Gordie Howe)
Hartford/Carolina Records: Most games played (1,186), most seasons
played (16), most career points (1,175), most career goals (382), most career
assists (793), most career playoff points (39), most career playoff goals
(14), most career playoff assists (25), most career hat tricks (9), most career power-play goals (132), most career game-winning goals (57), most assists in one season (69 in
1989-90), most points in one game (6 vs. Boston on March 5, 1987 and at Quebec
on Oct. 8, 1989, shares record), most goals in one game (4 vs. Edmonton on
Feb. 12, 1984, shares record), most assists in one game (6 vs. Boston on March
5, 1987), most points in a playoff year (16 in 2002), most assists in one
playoff year (10 in 2002), most assists by a center in one season (69 in
1989-90), most assists by a rookie (43 in 1981-82), most 20-goal seasons (14),
most consecutive 20-goal seasons (10 from 1981-82 to 1990-91), fastest goal
from the start of a period (8 seconds in third period vs. Edmonton on Feb. 12,
1984), most points vs. one team in one year (16 vs. Boston in 1986-87),
most assists against one team in one year (13 vs. Boston in 1986-87)
Pittsburgh Records:
Most assists in one playoff series (11 vs. Washington in 1995), most assists
in one period of one playoff game (3 vs. Washington on May 8, 1995, shares
record)
100-Point Seasons: 1989-90 (Hartford) (101), 1992-93 (Pittsburgh)
(100), 1995-96 (Pittsburgh) (119)
NHL
Assists Leader: 1995 (Pittsburgh) (48), 1995-96 (Pitt.) (92, tie)
NHL Playoffs Assists Leader: 1992 (Pittsburgh) (19 assists)
Hartford/Carolina Points Leader: 1982-83 (90), 1984-85 (81), 1986-87
(93), 1987-88 (75), 1989-90 (101), 1999-00 (73), 2001-02 (77)
Hartford/Carolina Goals
Leader: 1987-88 (25, tie)
Hart./Car. Assists Leader: 1982-83
(59), 1983-84 (60), 1984-85 (57), 1985-86 (53), 1986-87 (63), 1987-88 (50),
1988-89 (48), 1989-90 (69), 1990-91 (55), 1999-00 (50), 2000-01 (50), 2001-02
(50), 2002-03 (35)
Hartford/Carolina Playoffs Points Leader: 2002 (16)
Hartford/Carolina
Playoffs Goals Leader: 1990 (3, tie)
Hartford/Carolina Playoffs Assists
Leader: 1988 (5), 2002 (10)
Pittsburgh Assists Leader: 1995
(48), 1995-96 (92, tie)
Pittsburgh Playoffs Points Leader: 1995 (19)
Pittsburgh Playoffs Assists Leader:
1992 (19), 1993 (11, tie), 1995 (13, tie), 1998 (5, tie)
Miscellaneous: Played on line with Blaine Stoughton for Hartford in
1981-82. ... Missed part of 1981-82 season with eye injury, suffered
during Hartford's Jan. 27, 1982, game vs. Calgary. ... Was youngest player in
1983 NHL All-Star Game. Played on line with Mike Bossy and Bryan Trottier in
that game as a 19-year-old. ... Tied Hartford single-game records (since
broken) for points (5) and assists (5) in Oct. 16, 1982, game vs. Vancouver.
... Missed part of 1983-84 season with strained ligaments in right knee, an
injury suffered during Hartford's Nov. 30, 1983, game vs. Vancouver. ... Tied
Hartford single-game record (since broken) with five points in Feb. 12, 1984,
game vs. Edmonton. ... Missed 27 games during 1985-86 season with broken left
ankle and torn ligaments, an injury suffered during Hartford's Jan. 18, 1986,
game at Quebec. ... Named to 1986 Wales Conference All-Star team, but did not
play due to injury. .. Played 1986 playoffs in a flak jacket to protect his
two broken ribs, an injury suffered when he was checked by Paul Gillis during
Game 1 of Hartford's first-round playoff series at Quebec on April 9, 1986.
... Became Hartford's all-time leader in games played, points and assists
during 1986-87 season. ... Was Hartford's nominee for 1987-88 Masterton
Trophy. ... Missed part of 1988-89 season with broken left index finger, an
injury suffered when he was slashed by Steven Finn during Hartford's Jan. 28,
1989, game vs. Quebec. ... Named Hartford Player of Month for October,
November and December of 1989. ... Co-winner (with Bill Ranford) of NHL Player
of Week award for the week ending Dec. 24, 1989. ... Suffered broken nose in 1990-91 season when
he was high-sticked by Dave Poulin during Hartford's Nov. 24, 1990, game vs.
Boston. He did not miss any games with the injury. ... Missed part of 1991-92
season with ankle injury. ... Scored Stanley Cup-clinching goal for Pittsburgh
during Game 4 of Stanley Cup Finals at Chicago on June 1, 1992. ... Scored his
1,000th career NHL point for Pittsburgh during Oct. 28, 1993, game vs. Quebec.
... Missed parts of 1995 season with the flu, contracted in February 1995, and
with back spasms, an injury suffered during Pittsburgh's Feb. 21, 1995, game
at New Jersey. ... Played his 1,000th career NHL game for Pittsburgh on April
16, 1995, at Philadelphia. ... Was first player in Pittsburgh history to win
Selke Trophy, a feat he achieved in 1995. ... Was Pittsburgh's interim
captain in 1995 while Mario Lemieux was battling cancer. ... Missed
part of 1995-96 season with hip flexor injury, suffered during Pittsburgh's
Jan. 5, 1996, game vs. Detroit. ... Suspended two games and fined $1,000 by
NHL for checking from behind in Feb. 24, 1996, game at Montreal. ... Played
left wing on line with Mario Lemieux and Dave McLlwain for Pittsburgh in
second half of 1995-96 season. ... Missed remainder of 1996 playoffs with
broken left foot, suffered in second period of Game 5 of
Pittsburgh's second-round series vs. N.Y. Rangers. ... Was runner-up to Sergei
Fedorov for
1995-96 Selke Trophy. ... Was Pittsburgh's nominee for 1995-96 Masterton Trophy.
... Scored 400th career NHL goal during Pittsburgh's March 29, 1997, game vs.
Los Angeles. ... Missed part of 1996-97 season with groin injury, suffered
during Pittsburgh's March 1, 1997, game at New Jersey. ... Recorded 1,000th
career NHL assist during Pittsburgh's March 21, 1998, game vs. Philadelphia.
... Missed part of
1997-98 season with pulled hamstring, an injury suffered during Pittsburgh's
April 16, 1998, game at Carolina. ... Wore No. 21 when he returned to
Hartford/Carolina franchise because Gary Roberts was already wearing No. 10.
Francis went back to No. 10 after Roberts signed with Toronto on July 4, 2000.
... Named Carolina Player of Month for February and March 1999. ... Served as
Carolina interim captain from Sept. 30, 1999, until former captain Keith
Primeau was traded on Jan. 23, 2000, at which time Francis became permanent
captain. ... Missed
parts of 1999-00 season with vertigo, diagnosed in November 1999, and with
back spasms, suffered during Carolina's practice on Jan. 27, 2000. ...
Recorded his 1,500th career NHL point during Carolina's Nov. 5, 1999, game at
Detroit, making him the sixth player in NHL history to reach that plateau. ...
Named Carolina Player of Month for January 2000. ... Was Carolina's nominee
for 1999-00 King Clancy Trophy. ... Missed remainder of 2001 playoffs with
concussion, suffered during Game 3 of Carolina's first-round series vs. New
Jersey on April 17, 2001. ... Played in his 1,500th career NHL game for
Carolina vs. N.Y. Islanders on Oct. 26, 2001. ... Played his 1,000th game in a
Hartford/Carolina franchise uniform and scored his 500th career NHL goal vs.
Boston on Jan. 2, 2002. ... Named NHL Player of Week for week ending Jan. 6,
2002. ... Was honored by Carolina Hurricanes with Ron Francis Night on Jan.
29, 2002. ... Scored game-winning goal at 0:58 of overtime as Carolina beat
Detroit in Game 1 of Stanley Cup Finals on June 4, 2002. ... Ranks second to
Wayne Gretzky in career NHL assists. ... Waived his no-trade clause with
Carolina on March 9, 2004, so that he could be dealt to a Stanley Cup
contender (Toronto) at trade deadline. ... Turned down offer to retire and
take a front-office job in player development with Carolina during summer of
2004. ... On Oct. 26, 2005, Carolina announced that it would retire Francis'
No. 10 jersey before its Jan. 28, 2006, game vs. Atlanta.
Loss of Whalers' Captaincy:
Francis became target of sharp criticism from Hartford general manager Ed
Johnston and head coach Rick Ley
during the 1990-91 season, and Ley unceremoniously stripped Francis of the
team's captaincy. At the time, Francis was
playing out the option year of his contract and was earning $380,000. As a
result, Ley questioned Francis' leadership and motivation, and he blamed him
for the team's struggles. The situation became particularly ugly when Ley
brought Francis into his office to tell him the news. He asked Francis to keep
it a secret for at least one day, but the story leaked to the media, and
Francis ended up telling his teammates about the situation because Ley would
not. The feud finally came to an end when Francis was traded to Pittsburgh in
a six-player deal on March 4, 1991. At the time of the trade, Francis was
leading Hartford with 76 points. Four years later, Francis would be named
captain of the Pittsburgh Penguins, a team then coached by Ed Johnston. And
eight
years after the Hartford incident, Francis would re-assume his position as the
franchise's captain, regaining the "C" in Carolina.
Francis' Holdout:
Francis missed Pittsburgh's 1991 training camp and the first nine games of the
1991-92 season in a contract dispute with Pittsburgh. A restricted free agent
at the time, Francis did come back to Pittsburgh from his home in Hartford to
participate in the team's Stanley Cup banner-raising ceremony and receive his
Stanley Cup ring. At the time, both sides were close to a contract agreement,
which Francis finally signed on Oct. 25, 1991. His deal was a five-year
package worth $4.1 million. Francis, who had not played since the 1991
playoffs, played his first game of the season on Oct. 26, 1991. |
| NON-NHL CAREER |
Post-Draft Teams: Sault Ste. Marie (OHL)
World Championships: 1985
(silver medal)
NON-NHL
AWARDS AND HONORS
Education: Attended Lake Superior
State University in off-seasons of his early playing days.
Miscellaneous: Grew two inches after
he was drafted and played most of NHL career at 6-foot-3. ... Turned down offer
to attend Cornell University so he could turn pro after the 1981
draft. ... Lived with Hartford teammate Greg Millen and Millen's wife as an
NHL rookie in 1981-82. ... Was leading OHL
with 48 points when recalled to NHL for good on Nov. 14, 1981. ... Was active
in charitable causes during his playing days, including work with Whalers
Community Relations Program, work as honorary chairman of the Connecticut Boy
Scouts and extensive work with Special Olympics. ... Associated himself with Special
Olympics throughout career in honor of his brother, Ricky Francis, who
won a gold medal in 1997 Special Olympics as a cross-country skiier. ...
Invested in a restaurant during his playing days in Hartford. ... Earned real
estate license in summer of 1989. ... Received Citizenship Through Sports
Award on June 29, 1999. The award, given by the Citizenship Through Sports
Alliance, goes to an athlete who has demonstrated outstanding conduct outside
of arena. ... Sponsored Francis' Family Night Out events in Pittsburgh and
Carolina, enabling hospital patients and families to attend games in his private suite.
Personal:
Full name is Ronald Michael Francis Jr.. ... Also known as Ronnie Francis during
his playing days. ... Older brother of Special Olympics gold medalist Ricky
Francis. ... Second cousin of former NHL player Mike Liut. |
| HOW HE GOT AWAY |
| TRADE (2): Hartford traded Francis, Grant
Jennings and Ulf Samuelsson to Pittsburgh in exchange for John Cullen, Jeff
Parker and Zarley Zalapski on March 4, 1991. Seven years later, Carolina (the
former Hartford franchise) got Francis back when the Hurricanes signed him as a Group III
unrestricted free agent on July 13, 1998. Nearly six years later, Carolina
lost Francis again when it traded him to Toronto in exchange for a 2005
fourth-round pick on March 9, 2004. |
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|
SNAPSHOT '81 | | Total Selected: |
211 | | Forwards: |
119 | | Defense: |
67 | | Goaltenders: |
25 | | Major Junior: |
122 | | Tier II/Jr. B: |
10/4 | | College Players: |
21 | | High School: |
18 |
| Canadian: |
139 |
| Euro-Canadian: |
3 | | USA Citizens: |
37 | | U.S.-Born: |
36 |
| European: |
32 |
| Reached NHL: |
114 |
| Stanley Cup: |
17 | | Hall of Fame: |
2 |
| All-Star Game: |
14 |
| Year-end All-Star: |
7 |
| Olympians: |
30 |
| Picks Traded: |
38 |
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