TTM Stats
- Sent: 4/14/2022 | Received: 8/1/2022 | 107 Days
- ’90 Upper Deck, ’90 Pro Set
- Address: Seattle Kraken Team Address (NHL Team Address Resource)
- Sent: 11/2/2021 | Received: 8/9/2022 | 277 Days
- ’90 Topps, ’91 Bowman
- Address: Seattle Kraken Team Address (NHL Team Address Resource)
The Story of the Autograph
Few players in NHL history blended production, leadership, and humility as seamlessly as Ron Francis. When the lanky center stepped away in 2004, he ranked second all time in assists (1,249), fifth in points (1,798) and third in games played (1,731)—gaudy numbers posted with barely a trace of chest thumping fanfare.
Born March 1, 1963 in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Francis stayed home to skate for his beloved Soo Greyhounds. As a 17 year-old rookie in 1980-81 he piled up 69 points in 64 OHL games, foreshadowing the playmaking wizardry to come. The Greyhounds later retired his No. 10 sweater—a hometown salute to their most famous alumnus.
The Hartford Whalers grabbed Francis fourth overall in the 1981 NHL Draft, and he jumped straight to the big club that November. Within three seasons he wore the “C,” eventually owning nearly every offensive record in Whalers history. His blend of two way responsibility and soft hands made him the heartbeat of a small market franchise that routinely punched above its weight.
On March 4, 1991, Hartford stunned the league by sending its captain—and future Hall of Famer—along with Ulf Samuelsson and Grant Jennings to Pittsburgh for John Cullen, Zarley Zalapski and Jeff Parker. The deal is still cited as one of the most lopsided in deadline history: Francis centered a lethal second line behind Mario Lemieux and helped steer the Penguins to back-to-back Stanley Cups in 1991 and ’92.
His Pittsburgh peak came in 1995-96, when he racked up 119 points and a league leading 92 assists—proof that a “secondary” center can still dominate the score sheet.
A free agent in 1998, Francis returned to the relocated Whalers franchise—now the Carolina Hurricanes—specifically to help nurture hockey in a non traditional market. He served as captain for five seasons, won another Lady Byng Trophy for gentlemanly play, and lifted Carolina to its first Stanley Cup Final appearance in 2002. In 2006 the Hurricanes raised his No. 10 to the rafters in Raleigh.
Carolina dealt Francis to Toronto at the 2004 deadline for one last playoff push. When the NHL resumed after the 2004-05 lockout, the 41 year old opted to retire, ending a remarkable 23 season run in which he averaged more than a point per game.
Beyond the raw totals, Francis collected two Stanley Cups, three Lady Byngs, a Selke Trophy, a King Clancy Trophy and four All Star nods. In his first year of eligibility he entered the Hockey Hall of Fame (2007) and was later named to the NHL’s list of 100 Greatest Players released during the league’s centennial celebrations in 2017.
Francis cut his management teeth in Raleigh, rising to Hurricanes GM (2014-18) before being tabbed as the first general manager in Seattle Kraken history on July 18, 2019. Seattle rewarded steady progress with a three year contract extension through 2027, and in April 2025 bumped him up to president of hockey operations during a front office reshuffle. His measured roster building—stockpiling draft picks and emphasizing depth—has already earned league wide respect.
Away from the rink, Francis is famously private. He married Mary Lou Robie in 1986 after the couple met during his Hartford days; they have three children—Kaitlyn, Michael and Connor. Friends and former teammates routinely cite his integrity and charitable work, qualities that made him the first hockey player ever inducted into the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame.
Ron Francis never chased headlines, yet his fingerprints are all over the modern NHL record book, two championship banners, and now the blueprint of the league’s newest franchise. He is proof that greatness doesn’t always roar; sometimes it glides, drops a perfect pass, and lets the numbers—and the people it lifts—do all the talking.
The Score on Ron Francis – 6.0
Ron signature goes two ways for me, and that’s about whether the marker he uses goes with the team colors. So the Whalers cards below are better to me than the others. His signature is more tall than long as you can see. I think my favorite though is the Upper Deck art card. Those art cards look amazing signed.
Thanks Mr. Francis! I’m giving these returns a 6 overall.
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Information gathered using Wikipedia and Hockey Reference.