Part 2 of a two-part series:
Ron Francis' respect and affection for Jim Rutherford are obvious.
And understandable.
After all, Rutherford is the GM who lured Francis to Carolina as a free agent in 1998, after Francis had spent seven-plus seasons with the Penguins, and later brought him into the Hurricanes' front office, where he served in a variety of roles.
It was there that Francis honed the skills that ultimately allowed him to succeed Rutherford in Raleigh and, now, to oversee operations of the NHL expansion club in Seattle that will begin play in 2021-22.
"It was great that he gave me the opportunity to wear a lot of hats," Francis said. "I started in player development. He had me as assistant GM. I was down on the bench as associate head coach. I was back upstairs as assistant GM. Then ultimately, when he felt it was time to move aside and let me take over, he did that. Shortly after that, he moved over to Pittsburgh.
"I kind of missed the fact that I would have had him around for that guidance and leadership and experience as I worked in my first (GM) job. But I certainly appreciated the fact that he had me in on a lot of discussions, asked my opinion. You go through those processes and understand the pressure and what you're trying to accomplish and why deals may come together or may not happen. Certainly, a lot of experience that I gained (came) from being with him, in addition to having a great friendship with him on the side."
Of course, they are now competitors, as well as colleagues, which figures to affect at least some aspects of their relationship.
And because one of Francis' primary duties over the next year will be preparing for the expansion draft that will stock his still-unnamed team's depth chart, his performance will be measured against that of George McPhee, GM in Vegas when it entered the league.
McPhee did a masterful job of not only constructing a major-league roster, but of convincing established teams to surrender assets in return for the Golden Knights not claiming a specific player who had been exposed in that expansion draft.
Exhibit A: The Penguins, who were particularly concerned about losing forward Bryan Rust, sent a second-round draft choice to Vegas in return for a promise that it would take Marc-Andre Fleury, who immediately became the face of the franchise there.
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