Robert Emile Francis (born December 5, 1958) is a Canadian-born American former professional ice hockey player and coach. He played 14 games in the National Hockey League with the Detroit Red Wings during the 1982–83 season, though most of his career was spent in the minor leagues. He was the head coach of the Phoenix Coyotes of the from June 1999 to February 2004. In 2002 Francis became the first Coyotes' coach to win the Jack Adams Award. He is the son of former NHL general manager and coach Emile Francis.
| Bobby Francis | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Born | December 5, 1958 North Battleford, Saskatchewan, Canada | ||
| Height | 5 ft 9 in (175 cm) | ||
| Weight | 174 lb (79 kg; 12 st 6 lb) | ||
| Position | Centre | ||
| Shot | Right | ||
| Played for | Detroit Red Wings | ||
| NHL draft | Undrafted | ||
| Playing career | 1980–1987 | ||
Coaching career
editFrancis served as a player-coach with the Salt Lake Golden Eagles of the International Hockey League (IHL) in 1986, followed by four years as head coach of the IHL's Utah Grizzlies.[1] After head coaching stints in the American Hockey League (AHL) for the Saint John Flames and Providence Bruins, Francis spent two years at the NHL level as an assistant coach to Pat Burns of the Boston Bruins before being hired by the Phoenix Coyotes in 1999.[1] In 2002, after leading the Coyotes to a 40-27-9-6 record, and the most points in the league following that year's Olympic break, Francis was awarded the Jack Adams Award as Coach of the Year.[2] Midway through his fifth season at the helm of the Coyotes in 2004, Francis was fired after a slow start and replaced by assistant coach Rick Bowness.[3]
On April 26, 2006, Francis signed a two year-contract to coach HIFK in the Finnish SM-liiga. On December 19, 2006, Francis's contract was terminated.[4]
Personal life
editAlthough Francis was born in North Battleford, Saskatchewan, he spent much of his youth growing up in Long Beach, New York, while his father was coaching the New York Rangers, and holds both Canadian and American citizenship. In September 2012, it was revealed that Francis had lost his balance and equilibrium and required a walker to get around.[5] The symptoms began showing during the 2003–04 NHL season. Francis also revealed his struggle with alcoholism, which played a key factor in his dismissal from HIFK.[5]
Career statistics
editRegular season and playoffs
edit| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1972–73 | Brooklyn Stars | NYJHL | 38 | 36 | 34 | 70 | 44 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1973–74 | Brooklyn Stars | NYJHL | 41 | 41 | 53 | 94 | 63 | 12 | 17 | 11 | 28 | 24 | ||
| 1974–75 | Bronx Shamrocks | NYJHL | 40 | 53 | 59 | 112 | 71 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1975–76 | Great Bay Vikings | NEJHL | 40 | 62 | 74 | 136 | 61 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1976–77 | University of New Hampshire | ECAC | 13 | 2 | 7 | 9 | 12 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1977–78 | University of New Hampshire | ECAC | 27 | 7 | 14 | 21 | 6 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1978–79 | University of New Hampshire | ECAC | 35 | 20 | 46 | 66 | 44 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1979–80 | University of New Hampshire | ECAC | 28 | 19 | 23 | 42 | 30 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1980–81 | Muskegon Mohawks | IHL | 27 | 16 | 17 | 33 | 33 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1980–81 | Birmingham Bulls | CHL | 18 | 6 | 21 | 27 | 20 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1981–82 | Oklahoma City Stars | CHL | 80 | 48 | 66 | 114 | 76 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 11 | ||
| 1982–83 | Colorado Flames | CHL | 26 | 20 | 16 | 36 | 24 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1982–83 | Adirondack Red Wings | AHL | 17 | 3 | 8 | 11 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1982–83 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 14 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1983–84 | Colorado Flames | CHL | 68 | 32 | 50 | 82 | 53 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | ||
| 1984–85 | Salt Lake Golden Eagles | IHL | 53 | 24 | 16 | 40 | 36 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | ||
| 1985–86 | Salt Lake Golden Eagles | IHL | 82 | 32 | 44 | 76 | 163 | 5 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 10 | ||
| 1986–87 | Salt Lake Golden Eagles | IHL | 82 | 29 | 69 | 98 | 86 | 17 | 9 | 8 | 17 | 13 | ||
| IHL totals | 244 | 101 | 146 | 247 | 318 | 28 | 10 | 13 | 23 | 23 | ||||
| NHL totals | 14 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
NHL coaching
edit| Team | Year | Regular season | Post season | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | W | L | T | OTL | Pts | Division rank | W | L | Result | ||
| Phoenix Coyotes | 1999–00 | 82 | 39 | 31 | 8 | 4 | 90 | 3rd in Pacific | 1 | 4 | Lost in first round |
| Phoenix Coyotes | 2000–01 | 82 | 35 | 27 | 17 | 3 | 90 | 4th in Pacific | — | — | Missed Playoffs |
| Phoenix Coyotes | 2001–02 | 82 | 40 | 27 | 9 | 6 | 95 | 2nd in Pacific | 1 | 4 | Lost in first round |
| Phoenix Coyotes | 2002–03 | 82 | 31 | 35 | 11 | 5 | 78 | 4th in Pacific | — | — | Missed Playoffs |
| Phoenix Coyotes | 2003–04 | 62 | 20 | 24 | 15 | 3 | 55 | 5th in Pacific | — | — | Fired |
| NHL totals | 390 | 165 | 144 | 60 | 21 | ||||||
References
edit- ^ a b "Francis Is Coyotes New Coach". CBS News. June 16, 1999. Retrieved June 14, 2018.
- ^ "Jose Theodore named NHL MVP | CBC Sports". CBC. CBC News. June 27, 2002. Retrieved June 14, 2018.
- ^ Garay, Anabelle (February 24, 2004). "Phoenix Coyotes Fire Bob Francis As Coach (washingtonpost.com)". The Washington Post. Retrieved June 14, 2018.
- ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on May 24, 2020. Retrieved December 19, 2006.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)[permanent dead link] - ^ a b Bickley, Dan (September 28, 2012). "Ex-coach Bob Francis now fighting for quality of life". USA Today. Retrieved October 1, 2016.
External links
edit- Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com, or Eliteprospects.com, or Hockey-Reference.com, or The Internet Hockey Database