Veteran center Francis retires after 23 seasons...

One of the all time good guys, have been a fan since i was 7, met him several times, and was GREAT w/ fans....he is the reason I even started wacthing hockey when he was on the Whalers in the early 80's.....



NEW YORK (Reuters) - Veteran center Ron Francis announced on Wednesday he was retiring from the National Hockey League after 23 seasons.

The 42-year-old Francis joins a number of veteran players including New York Rangers center Mark Messier, St. Louis Blues defenseman Al MacInnis and New Jersey Devils defenseman Scott Stevens who have retired in recent weeks.
Francis, a four-time NHL All-Star, ranked second in career assists behind Wayne Gretzky with 1,249 and tied for third in games played with 1,731.

"As a kid growing up in the little city of Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, I dreamed of one day playing in the NHL, but never did I expect it to be as much fun as it turned out to be," Francis said in a statement.

He played with the Hartford Whalers, Pittsburgh Penguins, Carolina Hurricanes and Toronto Maple Leafs during his long career. He helped the Penguins win consecutive Stanley Cups in 1991 and 1992

no love for Ronnie Franchise?

He's always been a 'quiet superstar'. Carried Hartford for all those years, with Verbeek and Dineen. 20 years with at least 20 goals, that's unbelievable. But he was never really a goal scorer, more of a playmaker. He was pretty much done with the Leafs... slow as molasses, but what a character guy. Cheers to Ron Francis. Hall of Fame no-brainer.

top 10 all time players in nhl history....

uh Sherman, that's absurd. He was a great player but not in the top 10 in his era. There were probably 20 (50?) guys pre-1967 better.

Since expansion? Several goalies, Howe, Hull, Orr, Gretzky, Lemieux, Lafleur, Esposito, Kharlamov, Larinov, Makarov, Krutov, Fetisov, Bossy, Dionne, Trottier, Messier, Robinson, Gainey, Clarke, Yzerman, Sakic, Jagr, Forsberg, Potvin, Coffey, Bourque, Neely, Lindros (for awhile), Macinnis, etc etc.

I put him on par with Hawerchuk and Denis Savard as far as 80's Centermen go, with greater longevity. The thing I ask myself when comparing players is if I were a Gm, would I trade a player for the other overr the height of their careers. No way would I take Francis for any of the 30+ guys I mentioned there, and I know I've left out plenty in my drunken state.

met him a few times at the team hotel here in so cal. one of the quietest and collest and nicest guys you will ever meet. a great guy!

neel said:

uh Sherman, that's absurd. He was a great player but not in the top 10 in his era. There were probably 20 (50?) guys pre-1967 better.

Since expansion? Several goalies, Howe, Hull, Orr, Gretzky, Lemieux, Lafleur, Esposito, Kharlamov, Larinov, Makarov, Krutov, Fetisov, Bossy, Dionne, Trottier, Messier, Robinson, Gainey, Clarke, Yzerman, Sakic, Jagr, Forsberg, Potvin, Coffey, Bourque, Neely, Lindros (for awhile), Macinnis, etc etc.

I put him on par with Hawerchuk and Denis Savard as far as 80's Centermen go, with greater longevity. The thing I ask myself when comparing players is if I were a Gm, would I trade a player for the other overr the height of their careers. No way would I take Francis for any of the 30+ guys I mentioned there, and I know I've left out plenty in my drunken state.

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I certainly won't argue with you as you obviously know more about hockey than i do...