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WRALSportsFan

Canes Name Francis Assistant General Manager

By Dane Huffman

Oct 4, 2007

Raleigh, N.C. — The Carolina Hurricanes have named Ron Francis their new assistant general manager, the franchise announced Thursday afternoon.

The job came open a week before the season, when Jason Karmanos, the son of the owner, resigned suddenly. Karmanos said he was resigning for personal reasons.

Francis, one of the team's all-time great players, has been serving as the director of player development.

"I'm really excited and very nervous about this," Francis said Thursday.

Francis said that after retiring, he wanted a break from the day to day grind of hockey, but he has been ready in recent years to become more involved. He had served in his previous role for about a year.

Now, he will become more involved in the organization, although general manager Jim Rutherford said some of the business responsibilities will be allocated elsewhere with Francis being promoted.

Still, there will be plenty for Francis to learn.

"There are a lot of different areas that will be new," Francis said.

Rutherford praised Francis' work ethic in the front office and said he was particularly pleased with how Carolina's young players performed in training camp, which he said was due, in part, to the direction they received from Francis.

The move is a significant one for Carolina in that elevating Francis to assistant general manager puts him in position to ultimately run the franchise if he moves to general manager.

Francis was drafted in the first round, fourth overall, by the Hartford Whalers in 1981. He played 10 seasons with the Whalers, seven full seasons with the Pittsburgh Penguins and then played six seasons with the Hurricanes.