By Anthony Caruso III | Publisher
According to the Seattle Times, the new Seattle NHL franchise is expected to name Ron Francis as their GM. An official announcement is expected this week.
The story suggests that Francis may have received a five-year deal. With the team expected to start in October 2021, Francis will have two years to analyze and make preparations for their inaugural season.
Francis was last the GM of the Carolina Hurricanes. He was hired by the team as their GM in 2014 when he replaced former Hurricanes GM Jim Rutherford, before parting ways with the franchise in April 2018.
Before leaving the Hurricanes, he was demoted within the franchise, as he was named President of Hockey Operations, according to CBC.ca.
When Francis was the Hurricanes GM, he had to deal with a small market team and had to use the draft to build the team. During his tenure, according to the Seattle Times post, he drafted Sebastian Aho and worked a deal to acquire Teuvo Teräväinen, who finished 1-2 on the team in scoring.
Since Seattle is years away from playing, it is not clear how they’re going to handle their operation. Francis will have to decision if they’re going to try to make a big splash, or deal through the draft again.
This new franchise will play their home games at the New Arena at Seattle Center. Their owners are the Seattle Hockey Partners, including David Bonderman, Jerry Bruckheimer, and Tod Leiweke.
When they finally play their inaugural season, they will be the first hockey team to call Seattle home since the Western Hockey League’s Seattle Totems in 1975.
