Selected fourth overall in the 1981 NHL Entry Draft by the Hartford Whalers, Ron Francis tallied 25 goals and 68 points in his rookie season and instantly became a fan favourite in Hartford.

Midway through his fourth season in Hartford, Francis was named the club's captain when incubent Mark Johnson was traded to the St. Louis Blues. At 22 years of age, Francis became one of the youngest leaders in NHL history.

As a member of the Pittsburgh Penguins, Francis helped the club capture back-to-back Cup titles in 1991 and 1992 while becoming one of the league's best passing two-way centres.

In 1995 Ron Francis was awarded both the Lady Byng and Frank J. Selke Trophy. It was his first of three Lady Byng trophies awarded throughout his career.

Although he has played in four All-Star games and has won the Selke Trophy (1995) and the Lady Byng Trophy (1995, 1998), Francis is perhaps the quietest superstar in the league. He reached 500 career goals in 2002, is one of only a few to record 1,000 career assists, and is climbing into the top 10 of all-time scorers, yet few would put him in the same class as Lafleur, Dionne or Lemieux.

Francis returned to the franchise that had orginally drafted him earlier in his career, signing as a free agent with the Carolina Hurricanes. He captained the Hurricanes to the 2002 Stanley Cup final where they lost to the Detroit Red Wings in six games.

Francis went on to play parts of six seasons in Carolina before being dealt to the Toronto Maple Leafs at the 2004 trade deadline. Following a lock out year in 2004-05, Francis called it a career in the summer of 2005. In November 2006, Francis returned to the Carolina Hurricanes as the club's Director of Player Development.