Ron Francis Steps Down, Seattle Kraken Seek Turnaround

0:00The Seattle Cracken just announced that Ron Francis is stepping down as president of hockey operations at the end of the season. It's a mutual call after a rough year where the team sitting at 32 wins, 34 losses, and 11 overtime losses, with only. 75 points tying them near the bottom of the league. They've dropped 10 of their last 11 games, and playoffs are basically out of reach. Francis, the 63-year-old Hall of Famer, got bumped up from General Manager last April, right after they fired Coach Dan Bilsma. Co-owner Todd Laywake says the role wore him down, and it was tough pulling him from his everyday GM duties. Now Jason Bauderill steps up fully as General Manager with his own decisions, even lining up an internal review to shake things up. Laywake didn't hold back on the disappointment, calling this 2025, 2026 season, way below expectations, and straight up, unacceptable. He apologized big time to Seattle fans, saying their passion deserves way better folks, who turned out huge for that magical second-year playoff run.

1:03Back in 2022, 2023, looking ahead, Bauderill's got over $29 million in cap space this summer to chase free agents and build a powerhouse. The Kraken's farm system is stacked, with their top minor league squad already in the playoffs, and they've landed stars like Chandler Stevenson before. Laywake's locked in on turning this around fast, aiming not just for wild card spots, but perennial contenders in the West. Something's off, but they're all into real line and get back to battling the big dogs, like Colorado and Dallas. Canada news today, powered by AI, bringing you what matters. I'm Cory with the story.