Double Team: A franchise player with Whalers and Hurricanes, Ron Francis excelled with Penguins

While the NHL is on hold because of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, the Tribune-Review will offer the Double Team project, an examination of the five best players who have contributed substantially to the Penguins and another franchise. For consideration, a player must have played at least the equivalent of a full season for each franchise. (Sorry, Jarome Iginla fans.)

Today, a look at the Carolina Hurricanes. Splashing into existence as the New England Whalers with the World Hockey Association (WHA) in 1971, the franchise operated out of Boston for three years before relocating to Hartford, Conn. As one of the WHA’s most stable franchises, the Whalers merged into the NHL in 1979. As the NHL began to expand into the south, the Whalers were swept away to North Carolina and became the Carolina Hurricanes, first based out of Greensboro then Raleigh. For the purposes of this exercise, a player’s WHA service is not considered. Only NHLers. (Sorry, Al Smith fans). In 151 all-time games against the Whalers/Hurricanes franchise, the Penguins have a 75-58-18 record.

1. Ron Francis, center

Before arriving to Pittsburgh, Francis was known as “Ronnie Franchise” in Hartford. The fourth overall pick in the 1981 draft, Francis was by most measures, that team’s most valuable player for a decade.

A three-time All-Star in Hartford, Francis served as the Whalers’ captain for parts of seven seasons but rarely enjoyed team success. In fact, the Whalers won only one playoff series in 18 years as an NHL franchise.

On March 4, 1991, Penguins general manager Craig Patrick pulled off a trade that remains the standard for the franchise by acquiring Francis as well as defensemen Ulf Samuelsson and Grant Jennings from the Whalers for forwards John Cullen, Jeff Parker and Zarley Zalapski. The deal pushed the Penguins to their first and second Stanley Cup titles in 1991 and 1992. Francis scored the Stanley Cup-clinching goal for the Penguins in Game 4 of the 1992 Final against the Chicago Blackhawks.

Largely serving as the team’s No. 2 center behind Mario Lemieux, Francis, one of the NHL’s greatest faceoff specialists, thrived in the Penguins’ aggressive offensive approach. And during Lemieux’s frequent health-related absences, he aptly filled in as the No. 1 center and even succeeded Lemieux as captain following his first retirement in 1997.

Reaching the 100-point mark twice with the Penguins, Francis’ meticulous attention to detail was not sacrificed in the name of offense. In 1995, he became the only player in franchise history to win the Frank J. Selke Trophy which recognizes the league’s top defensive forward.

During the 1998 offseason, the Penguins, facing financial constraints, could not afford to re-sign Francis who did re-sign with his previous franchise, now known as the Hurricanes. Four years later, Francis, once again a captain, led the Hurricanes to the franchise’s first appearance in a Stanley Cup final in 2002, losing to the Detroit Red Wings.

Enshrined into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2007, Francis is the NHL’s fifth-leading scorer of all-time with 1,798 points.

2. Ulf Samuelsson, defenseman

A fourth-round pick of the Whalers in 1982, Samuelsson shattered the perception that European players could not play a tough, rugged North American game. In fact, he did quite a bit to shatter various body parts of his opponents during his career.

The Swedish-born Samuelsson entered the NHL in 1984 and made opposing forwards pay a toll for venturing anywhere near the Whalers’ net. While hardly renowned for his offense, Samuelsson was blessed with a strong point shot and collected a fair amount of points during the free-flowing 1980s. He even finished 10th in voting for the James Norris Memorial Trophy, awarded to the league’s top overall defenseman, in 1986-87.

In 1991, the Whalers were once again stuck in neutral and jettisoned Samuelsson to the Penguins. In Pittsburgh, Samuelsson’s violent ways made him an instant favorite, including with former Steelers linebacker Jack Lambert.

During Game 6 of the 1991 Stanley Cup Final against the Minnesota North Stars, Samuelsson scored the series-clinching goal.

A member of the 1992 championship team as well, Samuelsson spent parts of five bellicose seasons with the Penguins making life miserable for anyone in an opposing jersey.

3. Matt Cullen, center

After a solid but mostly unremarkable first eight seasons with the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim and the Florida Panthers, Cullen joined the Hurricanes as undrafted free agent signing in the summer of 2004 before the NHL’s lockout which wiped out the 2004-05 season.

Blessed with slick speed, Cullen was an ideal fit for a franchise that adapted to the rules of the “new NHL” which stressed skating and skill starting with 2005-06. In 78 games Cullen established career highs with 25 goals and 49 assists. Then, during that spring’s postseason, Cullen filled a bottom-six role and helped the Hurricanes win the franchise’s only Stanley Cup title by putting up 18 points in 25 games.

Cullen joined the New York Rangers for one solid season before returning the Hurricanes via trade in the 2007 offseason. In 2008-09, Cullen reached the 20-goal mark once again with 22 scores and 43 points in 69 games then was a key contributor during a surprising run to the Eastern Conference final.

Dealt to the Ottawa Senators at the 2010 trade deadline, Cullen bounced between the Minnesota Wild and Nashville Predators before reuniting with former Carolina general manager Jim Rutherford, now with the Penguins, as a free agent signing in 2015.

Serving as a veteran mentor to several younger teammates, Cullen buttoned down the fourth line and won the Stanley Cup in 2016 as well as ’17.

4. Jordan Staal, center

The Penguins didn’t necessarily adopt a “three-center model” in the mid-2000s as much as they just happened to be bad enough to draft three top centers in three consecutive drafts.

Regardless of the method, they built up depth down the middle unlike any other team in the NHL when they drafted Staal No. 2 overall in 2006. While Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin attacked opposing defenses with their brilliant offensive abilities, Staal was primarily deployed as a third-line center and gave the Penguins a shutdown line along with wingers Matt Cooke and Tyler Kennedy.

That trio played a vital role in the Penguins’ defeat of the Detroit Red Wings in the 2009 Stanley Cup Final. Specifically, Staal’s dazzling short-handed goal allowed the Penguins to win Game 4, 4-2, and is considered a pivotal moment in the series.

A four-time 20-goal scorer with the Penguins, Staal turned down a multi-year contract extension from the Penguins during the 2012 offseason and requested a trade to the Hurricanes in order to claim a more prominent role as a top-six center and to play with his older brother, forward Eric Staal.

It would be a stretch to say Jordan Staal fulfilled those hopes in Carolina. He failed to reach the postseason in his first six seasons with the Hurricanes and has only been a 20-goal scorer once since leaving the Penguins.

Regardless, he has been one of that franchise’s top players, even if by default, since arriving. And last season, Staal was a key figure in helping the Hurricanes (who adopted the nickname of “Jerks”) make a surprising run to the Eastern Conference final.

5. Zarley Zalapski, defenseman

The fourth overall pick in the 1986 draft, Zalapski was a perfect fit on the blue line for the Penguins of the late 1980s. Working on the blue line of a dangerous power play, Zalapski became a fan favorite for his offensive exploits as well as his unique name.

He still holds the franchise mark for points by a rookie defenseman with the 45 he recorded in 58 games during the 1988-89 campaign.

Following the 1991 trade, Zalapski’s numbers actually improved with the mediocre Whalers and in 1992-93, he set a career-high with 65 points in 83 games while earning a selection to the All-Star Game.

Honorable mentions: Pat Boutette, right winger; Randy Cunneyworth, left winger; Pierre Larouche, center; Greg Malone, center; Greg Millen, goaltender.

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