TORONTO — Jim Rutherford and Ron Francis are extremely close.
Francis was the Carolina Hurricanes’ captain while Rutherford was their general manager. When Francis was tracking toward becoming an unrestricted free agent in June 2002, Francis and Rutherford hammered out a contract extension at P.F. Chang’s. Rutherford also gave Francis his start on the management side, helping him advance enough to acquire the same title.
Which is why this week’s news that Francis was effectively fired as GM — OK, moved into another front-office position — surprised Rutherford, who has a tremendous amount of respect for the job Francis has done.
“Ronnie’s a terrific guy, a terrific hockey guy,” Rutherford told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. “I really enjoyed working with him when I was in Carolina. I was surprised by the decision. I’m sure they’ll find a good GM to go in there. They’ll be hard-pressed to find a better one than him.”
There are certain reasons Francis’ detractors point to for his ouster, such as not making the playoffs since 2009, the longest drought in the NHL.
Or the fact that player-for-player transactions were rare during Francis’ tenure. The Scott Darling signing over the summer was also a rough one.
There’s also rumblings of issues between Francis and new owner Tom Dundon, who has repeatedly cited the need to move in a different direction.
Rutherford, of course, doesn’t view it as his business to tell his ex-employer what to do. But that certainly doesn’t take away from the respect that he has for Francis.
“He’s a good guy,” Rutherford said. “I was with him for a long time. Signed him there as a player. He was a really important part of bringing credibility to that organization at a key time. I liked working with him. He’s remained a friend.”
Josh Jooris, whom Francis traded to Pittsburgh for Greg McKegg at the trade deadline, echoed similar sentiments.
“He’s an unbelievable person,” Jooris said. “He gave me a chance there. He’s a hockey guy. He’s been there. He’s a Hall of Famer. He’s a real easy guy to talk to. You would see him around a lot, which is not the most common thing. He was just a really good person and really good hockey guy.”
Jason Mackey: jmackey@post-gazette.com and Twitter @JMackeyPG.
First Published: March 10, 2018, 7:16 p.m.