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Emile Francis
Leadership Council

Emile Francis

Born September 13, 1926, in Battleford, Saskatchewan, Francis was signed in 1946 as a goaltender the Chicago Blackhawks. From 1946 through 1948, he played for Chicago in the NHL and Kansas City of the United States Hockey League. In 1948, He was traded to the New York Rangers organization. For the next 12 seasons, Francis played for a host of teams in the NHL, American Hockey League and Western Hockey League.

After retiring as a player in 1960, Francis began his coaching career in the Rangers organization with Gurlph of the Ontario Hockey Association. He then joined the parent club in 1962 as an assistant general manager. In 1964 he took over as general manager.

Prior to his being named GM, the Rangers had missed the playoffs in five of six seasons and had posted six straight sub .500 seasons. By the 1966-67 season, however, New York finished two points over .500 and made the playoffs in the six-team NHL. It was to be the first of the Rangers nine straight playoff years and nine consecutive seasons with a better than .500 record.

Francis coached 654 regular season games in New York, winning 342 and posting a .602 winning percentage. All three are Ranger coaching marks. The Hockey News named Francis as the NHL’s Coach of the Year while he was with the Rangers in 1966-67 and 1971-72. In 1972, his Rangers advanced to the finals of the playoffs before losing to the Boston Bruins in six games.

Francis joined the St. Louis Blues as executive vice president in 1976 and was later named president of the club in 1977. During his tenure in St. Louis, the Blues made the playoffs in five of seven years, winning the Smythe Division title in 1976-77 and 19880-81. In 1980-81, Francis was named the NHL’s Executive of the Year by both The Sporting News and The Hockey News.

For his contributions to the sport, Francis was named the recipient of the Lester Patrick Trophy (1982) awarded annually for “outstanding service to hockey in the United States.”

That same year, Francis was elected as a “builder” to the Hockey Hall of Fame.

Among NHL coaches, Francis ranks 12 in regular season games coached (778), tenth in the win column (393), and seventh in winning percentage (minimum of 600 games) with a .577 mark.