gold star for USAHOF

7. Ron Francis

7. Ron Francis

When Ron Francis retired, he was second all-time in Assists with 1,249.  It needs to be mentioned that, 449 of them came as a Pittsburgh Penguin.

Playing his first nine and a half seasons of his career with the Hartford Whalers, Francis was traded to the Penguins for their run to the playoffs where he helped the Pens win their first Stanley Cup Championship.  Now with Pittsburgh for a full season, he would again hoist the Cup, but in terms of his individual career, the best was yet to come. 

In the 1994-95 Season, he would lead the NHL in Assists (48) and Plus/Minus (+30) while winning both the Lady Byng and Frank J. Selke Award, the latter being a near impossible pair of trophies to capture in the same season.  Francis would again lead the NHL in Assists (92) the following season with a career-high 119, and he would win his second Lady Byng in 1997-98.  Afterward, he would sign with the Carolina Hurricanes as a Free Agent, rejoining his original team that had relocated.

In Pittsburgh, he would accumulate 613 Points with a 1.15 Points per Game Average.

Francis was chosen for the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2007.

The Bullet Points

  • Position: Center
  • Acquired: Traded from the Hartford Whalers with Grant Jennings and Ulf Samuelsson for John Cullen, Jeff Parker and Zarley Zalapski 3/4/91.
  • Departed: Signed as a Free Agent with the Carolina Hurricanes 7/13/98.
  • Games Played: 533
  • Notable Statistics: 164 Goals
    449 Assists
    613 Points
    295 PIM
    1.15 PPG
    +70 Plus/Minus
    53.5 Point Shares

    97 Playoff Games
    32 Goals
    68 Assists
    100 Points
    67 PIM
    1.03 PPG
    +28 Plus/Minus
  • Major Accolades and Awards:

    Stanley Cup Champion (1991 & 1992)
    Lady Byng Trophy (1995 & 1998)
    Frank J. Selke Trophy (1995)
    All-Star (1996)
    Most Assists (1994-95 & 1995-96)
    Highest Plus/Minus (1994-95)
    Most Assists per Game (1994-95)

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