Old North Banter
Fansided

Daily Links & Banter 7/19: Ron Francis, Panthers O-line

By Christian Candeloro

NEWARK, NJ - JUNE 30: Ron Francis of the Carolina Hurricanes handles duties at the 2013 NHL Draft at the Prudential Center on June 30, 2013 in Newark, New Jersey. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
NEWARK, NJ - JUNE 30: Ron Francis of the Carolina Hurricanes handles duties at the 2013 NHL Draft at the Prudential Center on June 30, 2013 in Newark, New Jersey. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit

Good Morning it’s July 19th and Ron Francis is the GM of Seattle

While we wait for football, hockey and basketball to come back, it’s easy to forget there are massive moves happening across the sports world that will affect the future of their respective games.

From the NHL, the new dropped that Ron Francis is going to be the general manager of the Seattle expansion team that will begin play in 2021-22. Expansion teams are built to win in this league, evidenced by the Vegas Golden Knights’ success in its first two seasons.

Francis was an embattled general manager in Carolina, leading the Hurricanes to exactly zero playoff births in his four seasons. His draft classes produced a whole lot of blah, besides the selection of Aho in 2015.

His free agent signings continued to be uninspiring and it wasn’t until the culture was changed and many of his players traded away that the team began to pop.

Maybe he’ll learn from the four pedestrian years in Carolina and implement those fixes in his new iteration with Seattle. It certainly would be an interesting redemption story but would will you be rooting for him?

As Carolina fans, would it be tough to see Francis have success in Seattle? What if Seattle wins a Stanley Cup before Carolina? Comment below if you are rooting for Francis.

Scores

No scores

Today’s Schedule

No games scheduled

Daily Links

Panthers Position Preview: Offensive Line Still an Unknown

The final offensive position group in Old North Banter’s preview series, site expert Joseph Ochoa breaks down the uncertain season ahead for the big hog-mollies. With Cam Newton injured and the team with question marks at receiver and tight end, it would be a huge revelation to have the offensive line take a big step forward.

ACC Coastal preview: Get ready for more chaos and unpredictability

Over the last six years, there have been six different representatives in the ACC Championship game from the Coastal Division. The only team not to make the Championship game is Virginia (maybe this is the year).

That trend bodes well for both North Carolina and Duke as no one anticipated Pittsburgh winning the Coastal Division last year. It’s totally possible that a team like UNC or Duke could surprise and jump up the standings in similar fashion.

Unfortunately for the Tar Heels and Blue Devils, a Coastal team hasn’t won the ACC Championship since 2010 and with Clemson looking lethal in the Atlantic, this season isn’t likely to buck that trend.

Home/Cam Newton