VANCOUVER, British Columbia — Word came out over the weekend that Hall of Fame coach and general manager Emile "The Cat" Francis, the oldest living former player from one of Seattle's professional teams, had died at age 95.
Saskatchewan-born Francis was best known as a longtime New York Rangers coach and GM, guiding that team to the 1972 Stanley Cup Final before losing to Boston. But as a goaltender, despite standing just 5-foot-6 and weighing only 145 pounds, he appeared in 95 NHL games with the Rangers and Chicago, plus 959 contests in the minor professional American Hockey League and Western Hockey League.
During his WHL stint, Francis spent 69 games with the Seattle Americans in 1956-57 and one more game in 1959-60 after the franchise was renamed "Totems." His NHL executive career included GM stops in St. Louis and then in Hartford, where his Whalers teams were captained by current Kraken GM Ron Francis (no relation).
"He was of smaller stature, but with a really bubbly kind of personality," Ron Francis said Monday, adding he'd caught up with his former boss many times over the years at GM meetings in Florida, where he'd retired to. "Just honest, a straight shooter kind of guy. So, players liked that and respected that. He was a fun guy to be around."
Francis remembered "The Cat" early on bringing over a bunch of players from his St. Louis tenure, the biggest being star goalie Mike Liut, who helped the Whalers into the second round of the 1985-86 playoffs before losing a seven-game heartbreaker in overtime to eventual champion Montreal.
"He brought in a lot of the guys that are still involved in the game today that came through the Whalers," Francis said.
Indeed, "The Cat" — whose nickname was bestowed after a sportswriter wrote about his catlike reflexes in one particularly strong performance — imported much of Hartford's famed NHL coaching tree to that organization as players. Those included future NHL coaches and assistant coaches Dave Tippett, Joel Quenneville, Kevin Dineen, Dean Evason and Ulf Samuelsson while serving as Whalers GM from 1983-1988. He was also Hartford's president from 1988-1993, bringing in current Anaheim Ducks GM Pat Verbeek as a rugged winger during that time.
"There were a bunch of us guys that were texting yesterday about it," Tippett, the former NHL Seattle senior adviser recently let go as Edmonton Oilers coach, said in an interview Monday. "Me and Joel Quenneville, Ronnie (Francis) and Kevin Dineen and all those guys that were there in the mid-1980s. It's amazing, we're all still close friends now and it was all Emile's guys that he brought there."
Tippett had been an undrafted free agent out of the University of North Dakota in 1984 preparing to play for Team Canada at the Winter Olympics in Sarajevo. That's when Emile Francis flew out to Indianapolis to see him in an exhibition game against Team USA, took him to dinner afterward and told him he'd be "a good fit" with what they were doing in Hartford.
"I have real respect for that man," Tippett said. "The way he treated people and ran his team was pretty unbelievable."
The Seattle Americans team Emile Francis played for in 1956-57 was led by player-coach Keith Allen, the future Philadelphia Flyers GM and architect of the "Broad Street Bullies" back-to-back Stanley Cup championships in 1974 and 1975. Ahead of the first of those titles, the Francis-coached Rangers extended the Flyers to seven games in the 1974 semifinals before bowing out.
Seattle's top scorer during "The Cat's" 1956-57 season was Guyle Fielder — now believed to be the oldest living former Seattle pro player, having turned 91 last November.
Francis also spent his final full pro season as a player in Spokane for the WHL Spokes in 1958-59.
Kraken's Jared McCann ready for 400th game
Plenty has changed for Kraken winger Jared McCann since launching his NHL career in this city 400 games ago with the Vancouver Canucks.
Back then, McCann was just 19, drafted 24th overall in 2014 and breaking into a veteran-laden playoff team the following year. Now, three teams later, McCann is enjoying a breakout season — leading the Kraken with a career high 20 goals and just three points shy of his personal best of 35.
"Just the leaders we had on that team, the guys I got to learn from — the Sedin brothers, Alex Edler and Alex Burrows and those guys — it was pretty awesome to be able to play with the and kind of learn from them," McCann said after the Kraken's morning skate here ahead of playing in his 400th career game.
Things didn't always go smoothly for McCann with the Canucks. He was traded to Florida after that first 2015-16 season, with subsequent reports the teen's immature behavior off the ice had plenty to do with it.
McCann said he'd changed plenty entering Game No. 400.
"I'm definitely making more of an opportunity," he said. "I have more confidence. And obviously, I've matured a lot as a person as well. You know, it just comes with experienced."
And one thing he learned from that veteran Canucks team is not to take his current success for granted. "You've got to be a pro every day," he said. "The day you get comfortable is the day that you get traded or somebody takes your spot."
Calle Jarnkrok 'trying to play (his) game' amid trade rumors
Kraken forward Calle Jarnkrok, with five points his last five games heading into Monday, appears back in full form after a COVID-19 bout and subsequent injury derailed his opening month. "When you play on a regular basis, it gets easier for sure," said Jarnkrok, whose 10 goals and 10 assists in 39 games now have him approaching his prior production levels with Nashville.
Jarnkrok is a free agent after this season and already drawing mentions as a Kraken trade possibility with the March 21 deadline looming.
"We're not in a playoff spot right now so there's going to be a lot of attention," Jarnkrok said of the rumors. "But I'm just trying to play my game. Trying to help this team win. So, I try not to think about that."
