Carolina Hurricanes sign Ron Francis to two-year contract extension

Entering his third year at the helm of the Carolina Hurricanes’ hockey operations, general manager and EVP Ron Francis received a big endorsement from his boss on Tuesday, as owner Peter Karmanos announced that the club has signed Francis to a two-year contract extension that keeps Francis in the corner office through 2019.

Francis, who took over for Jim Rutherford in 2014 on a three-year contract, has overseen major changes in the Canes’ hockey operations department, including the hiring of Bill Peters a few months after taking the job and the addition of analytics guru Eric Tulsky to assist the coaching staff and front office. He has also left his mark on the Canes’ roster, trading captain Eric Staal and buying out Alexander Semin while continually reinforcing the team’s defense and goaltending units by drafting the likes of Noah Hanifin, Jake Bean and Alex Nedeljkovic. Under his leadership, the Canes enjoyed a fifteen-point increase in the standings, tallying 86 points last season, their highest total since 2011.

“Ron has rebuilt our organization the right way, stocking our team and system with young players who will help this franchise compete for the Stanley Cup year in and year out,” Karmanos said in a statement. “I’m thrilled that he will continue to see the job through. The future is very bright for the Hurricanes in Carolina.”

Francis will meet the media at 3:00 today at PNC Arena to discuss his new contract and other offseason business, including an offer of a PTO to forward Raffi Torres first reported by TSN’s Aaron Ward last night: