Ron Francis should have quit while he was ahead

Ron Francis (pictured )isthelatest hockey great to have his reputation somewhat tarnished by either his love of the game or whatever else pushed him into a career in management.

People today are not remembering him as the fifth leading scorer in NHL history, a two-time Stanley Cup winner, a Hall of Famer who finished with more points than the 1,731 games he played, one of the smoothest centres to ever lace up a pair of skates.

Anyone born less than 20 years ago saw none of that.

No, now Francis is just the guy who was demoted as general manager of the Carolina Hurricanes in March, then had his contract terminated on Monday. A guy who was groomed by championship architect Jim Rutherford, but after four years of running the team was hidden in a front office job. A guy no longer wanted in the organization at any position. Francis couldn’t end the Hurricanes drought of missing the playoffs, which now stands at nine years. Owner Tom Dundon didn’t have the same patience as his top hockey guy, who chose to build through the draft rather than make big trades or signings. Francis’ free agent coup was goalie Scott Darling, who was a flop in the first of a four-year deal.

With the shuffling being done in Toronto — where it was announced Lou Lamoriello will not return as GM and most assuming he won’t be satisfied with the role of senior advisor — the Francis dismissal is a sidebar.

A rather sad one, at that. Francis, at 55 years old, probably yearned for a managerial run like that of Lamoriello, who had Cup wins in New Jersey and a hand in turning around the Maple Leafs.

But now he’d settle for being remembered as a great player rather than a failure as a GM.