TORONTO - There was a dignified, quiet elegance to everything Ron Francis did on the ice, at a time when the National Hockey League was a lot of things, but rarely dignified and almost never elegant.
Only 18 when he joined the Hartford Whalers in 1981, Francis entered the league when it was still lovably crude and full of warts, a place where bench-clearing brawls were common, and ferocity both the creator and soother of all wounds.
Amid it all, Francis, who tonight formally will enter the Hall of Fame, went ever-so-quietly about his business, dishing out assists and piling up his points. We repeat . . . piling up his points. Even the most astute hockeyphile among us might be surprised to turn this morning to the NHL's Official Guide & Record Book to find that Francis ranks fourth on the all-time point list (1,731 games, 549 goals, 1,249 assists, 1,798 points).
Yes, that Ron Francis, the guy who tonight will step forward with Mark Messier, Scott Stevens, and Al MacInnis for enshrinement. Only Wayne Gretzky (2,857), Messier (1,887), and Mr. Hockey himself, Gordie Howe (1,850), finished with more points, and only Gretzky (1,963) set up more goals.
"Has there been a player in the history of the NHL who has been as quiet and understated, and accomplished more?" Messier mused as induction weekend was getting under way here. "I don't think so. He just went about his business, with no fanfare."
In all the clatter of the day, especially within the heated rivalry between the Bruins and Whalers in the 1980s and into the '90s, it was easy to overlook Francis. Boston fans, naturally, focused on all things Black & Gold, which in part was what sent the Whalers, born in the Hub as a World Hockey Association franchise, seeking safe harbor elsewhere in New England. Bruins fans knew where Hartford was, and were aware of the Whalers' talented young center, but the Hub had only so much homage to go around the rink.
As for Whalers fans, Francis showed up on their doorstep originally as the unwanted dog, the No. 4 selection in the 1981 draft. For months, all the predraft chatter had the Whale sure to select Bobby Carpenter, the Can't Miss Kid from neighboring Massachusetts. What could be better than having a Boston-area phenom, the most highly touted Yank ever in the draft, as the face of New England's "other" franchise? Whalers ownership stood ready to station an employee at the Mass. Pike's Sturbridge exit on game nights at the Civic Center, just to count the cars as they headed south through the toll booths.
But come draft day, Winnipeg led off by taking Dale Hawerchuk, Los Angeles followed by nabbing Doug Smith, and then Washington followed with the blindside hit of hits, swiping Carpenter at No. 3. Hartford missed on the Can't Miss Kid, and took the booby prize, the 6-foot-3-inch Francis from Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., fresh from a 69-point season in the Ontario Hockey League. No telling how the Capitals' fortunes might have played out for the next couple of decades had they opted for Francis.
"Funny, isn't it?" said lifelong Whale fan Alan Victor, president of the Whaler Booster Club, a small-but-avid bunch who remain loyal to the franchise, 10-plus years after its hasty exodus to North Carolina as the Hurricanes. "Sometimes you don't get what you want - but you end up with something better."
Victor, reached by telephone yesterday at his home in New Britain, Conn., remains hopeful the NHL one day will return to Hartford. Like many of his booster club brethren, he believes it was the March 1991 deal sending Francis to Pittsburgh, where he quickly won back-to-back Stanley Cups with the Penguins, that ultimately led to the franchise's demise in Hartford.
"No question that sent us down a slippery slope," he said. "It triggered the downfall of the Whalers in Hartford. I went to a national booster club meeting this last August, in Philadelphia. The theme was Halloween because, you know, the Flyers are orange and black, right? I got up and said, 'Well, we're used to trick-or-treat in Hartford. We were tricked when Ron Francis was dealt to Pittsburgh . . . and then Pittsburgh got the treat, winning two Cups with him.' "
Chuck Kaiton, the Hall of Fame broadcaster who remains the radio voice of the franchise, isn't as certain that deal portended the end of the Whale.
"But it sure didn't help," said Kaiton, reached in Sunrise, Fla., where the former Whalers tonight will face the Panthers. "What always confounded me about the whole trade was the fact that people with the Whalers questioned his leadership, and that someone made the assessment that John Cullen [the key player obtained from Pittsburgh] would be a better player than Ron Francis. I mean, nothing against Cullie, but that's always puzzled me. Ron Francis was nothing other than Mr. Consistency, and that put Cullie in the position that . . . well, he'd better be the better player. And he wasn't."
Francis landed in Pittsburgh when franchise center Mario Lemieux was in his prime and Jaromir Jagr was the brightest, most sensational young name in the game. Very similar to how Butch Goring proved to be just the right fit behind Bryan Trottier a decade earlier on Long Island, Francis was the underlying strength behind Mario Magnifique in Steeltown. He twice broke 100 points with Pittsburgh and also went on to wear the captain's 'C', resuming the role that was abruptly stripped from him by Whalers coach Rick Ley just weeks before general manager Eddie Johnston shipped him to the Pens.
Kaiton attended Francis's first training camp with the Whale, and he was immediately impressed with what proved to be the Francis trademarks - the smooth hands and deft timing of passes. The kid with the long, black, curly hair was humble and quiet, which were also his trademarks, but, said Kaiton, he also was a man of his time.
"I'll tell you this," said Kaiton, his blood pressure no doubt rising in lockstep with his voice. "I remember him one training camp locking up in a fight with Joe Reekie! Yessir, Ronnie Francis and Joe Reekie belting it out in training camp, back when people had to fight their own teammates for jobs out there. And when I say fight, I mean everyone fought. Hard to believe today, I know, but it's true."
Back in the shadows of the Civic Center, which is now home to the AHL Wolfpack, Victor said he and his fellow three dozen or so Whaler Boosters wish they could be here tonight to see their favorite player immortalized. Just over a year ago, "Ronnie Franchise" had his Whalers No. 10 hoisted to the Civic Center rafters. Now all they have is their memories.
"All class . . . great with fans, great with his teammates . . . everything you want in a guy," said Victor.
Francis nowadays is the Hurricanes' assistant general manager, and is widely considered astute enough one day to be an NHL GM. If the league ever made it back to Hartford, the Booster Club no doubt would want him in charge of the front office.
"We've still got a long way to go," said Victor, noting the city and state legislature would first have to approve a state-of-the-art arena to woo back the NHL. "But I'm convinced the league will expand again in a couple of years, and that's what I'd want, a new team, something you can start up and grow with. I don't want to steal it from another city, because, hey, we know what it is to get your heart torn out."
Kevin Paul Dupont can be reached at dupont@globe.com.
