Tod Leiweke, president and CEO of NHL Seattle, said this was perhaps the most important hire the team would make. The GM would be responsible for building a staff, an American Hockey League roster and an NHL roster before the team begins play in 2021-22 and would have input on everything from the new training center to the team name.
"We knew this [was] not a normal general manager's job," Leiweke said. "There are unique, unique challenges, so you have to find just the right person."
NHL Seattle retained a search firm in January and identified six criteria: an experienced leader and team builder; a relentless worker; a visionary who understood the competitive advantages of analytics; someone with relationships across the NHL; someone with a keen understanding of the NHL salary cap and the NHL Draft; and someone who could evaluate players.
Francis checked each box.
As a player, Francis was captain of three teams: the Hartford Whalers, Pittsburgh Penguins and Hurricanes. When Rutherford signed Francis as a free agent July 13, 1998, the Hurricanes had finished their first season after the team moved from Hartford to Carolina. They were similar to an expansion team in that they were establishing the NHL in a new market. Francis helped them make the Stanley Cup Final in 2002.
"I felt he could help Carolina but also bring credibility and character and leadership, and he did that as a player for us for a long time," said Rutherford, now GM of the Penguins. "And I knew that when he retired as a player that coming into the front office would be a good thing."
Francis went from director of player development to assistant GM, to associate coach and director of player personnel, to director of hockey operations, to vice president of hockey ops. He succeeded Rutherford as GM on April 28, 2014.
The Hurricanes didn't make the Stanley Cup Playoffs on his watch. They made some debatable selections in the NHL Draft. Goalie Scott Darling didn't work out after he was acquired from the Chicago Blackhawks on April 28, 2017 and signed to a four-year contract on May 5, 2017. After Tom Dundon became majority owner, Francis was reassigned as president of hockey ops on March 7, 2018, and his contract was terminated April 30, 2018.