Ron Francis is back in Pittsburgh, and he’s not pretending the move to Seattle never happened.
The former Kraken general manager and president of hockey operations, who was let go in April after five seasons running the franchise, has landed with the Penguins as a senior advisor to GM Kyle Dubas. Francis took part in Pittsburgh’s 2026 drafting decisions and was also around for development camp, a familiar role in a city where he won two Stanley Cups as a player in 1991 and 1992.
There’s a personal thread there, too. Francis said Dubas has been in his orbit for a long time. “Kyle and I have known each other probably his whole life.”
He also said he once tried to bring Dubas to Seattle before the Penguins got him. “He got let go in Toronto (as Maple Leafs GM in 2023).
I was trying to bring him to Seattle and then he (was hired by the Penguins). It finally worked out that we could work together.”
For Francis, the Pittsburgh return clearly stirred up old memories. He told Pittsburgh media that building the Kraken from scratch was a unique experience, even if the results never fully matched the effort.
“To have the opportunity to build something from the ground up, we basically built a new arena, designed the locker room, practice facility, all that kind of stuff,” said Francis, quoted by the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. “Another rink in Palm Springs (Calif.) for the minor-league team.
At one point, I had all kinds of tiles and carpet and paint samples in my office. It’s an exciting thing to go through.”
Seattle’s on-ice story under Francis had two very different chapters. The Kraken went 27-49-6 in their expansion season in 2021-22, then surged to 46-28-8 in 2022-23 and reached the playoffs for the only time so far. But after missing the postseason in each of the next two years, the organization turned the job over to current general manager Jason Botterill.
Francis didn’t hide the mixed feelings.
“Obviously, tough first year. We had a real good second year,” Francis says.
“It was a great experience. It was a little different from the Vegas (expansion draft), obviously.
I think (NHL executives) had gone through it once, had four years to prepare for us and we took a little bit different of an approach from Vegas. It was going to be drafting and developing a little bit longer plan.
But always wish you had more success if you can get it.”
The Seattle stint also sat on top of a longer stretch in Carolina that never produced a playoff berth. From 2011 to 2018, Francis worked in the Hurricanes’ front office as director of hockey operations and then general manager, and the team missed the postseason every year. As was noted before his departure from Seattle, that run raised questions about his front-office track record.
Now, though, Francis says Pittsburgh still feels like home.
“Catching a ride into town, it felt like I was coming home,” Francis said. “I’ve had a lot of people see me on the street, shake my hand and welcome me back to Pittsburgh, which is always really gratifying.
It was a fun part of my career here. We had a lot of success, a lot of good memories and I’ve always had a soft spot for the people of Pittsburgh and the fans of the Penguins.”
Francis, who played 23 seasons and 1,731 games with Hartford, Pittsburgh, Carolina and Toronto, was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2007. He now serves as chair of the 18-member Hall of Fame Selection Committee.
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Kraken Are Turning Development Camp Into A Real Roster Strategy
Development camp has become more than a summer tune-up for the Kraken. General manager Jason Botterill sees it as part of the sales pitch, a chance to get prospects comfortable with Seattle, the Pacific Northwest, Ballard and even U-Dub while they get their work in on the ice. The idea is straightforward enough: if the organization wants to keep building through young players, it has to make the city and the setup feel like a place they can see themselves staying.
That approach fits the way Seattle is trying to shape its roster right now. Botterill has made it clear the focus is on the clubs 23-and-under group rather than chasing a big free-agent splash, and the recent addition of Mackie Samoskevich is part of that thinking. It also leaves the Kraken leaning on trades as the most likely path to upgrade the team, which makes these summer touchpoints feel less like routine camp work and more like the start of the next round of roster decisions. [Read more 🡒]
Kraken Prospects Left Fans With One Big Stucky Cup Takeaway
The annual Stucky Cup gave Kraken fans one last look at development camp, and the prospect scrimmage had the kind of loose, fast pace that usually makes these sessions worth the trip. Team Blue came away with the win in the 4-on-4 format, getting goals from William Tomko, Will Reynolds and Zeb Forsfjall, while Team White answered through Ola Palme in a game that served as a clean snapshot of where several young players stand heading into the next stage of their careers.
Beyond the scoring, the more encouraging takeaway for Seattle was the list of prospects who kept popping up in the right places. Hawke Huff, Clarke Caswell, Ollie Josephson, Nathan Villeneuve and defenseman Rylan Singh all drew notice for strong showings, which is often the real point of a development camp finale anyway. The scrimmage also offered an early look at some of the organizations most intriguing young talent sharing the ice, a reminder that the Krakens prospect pipeline is starting to give fans a few names to track closely. [Read more 🡒]