Robert Emile Francis (born December 5, 1958) is a

Canadian-American Canadian Americans () are Citizenship of the United States, American citizens or in some uses residents whose ancestry is wholly or partly Canadians, Canadian, or citizens of either country who hold dual citizenship. Today, many Canadian American ...

former professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

player and coach. He played 14 games in the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...

with the

Detroit Red Wings The Detroit Red Wings (colloquially referred to as the Wings) are a professional ice hockey team based in Detroit. The Red Wings compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the East ...

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 The Arizona Coyotes are an inactive professional ice hockey team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. They competed in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Division (1996–1998, 2021–2024) and ...

of the from June 1999 to February 2004. In

2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

Francis became the first Coyotes' coach to win the

Jack Adams Award The Jack Adams Award is awarded annually to the National Hockey League (NHL) coach "adjudged to have contributed the most to his team's success." The league's Coach of the Year award has been presented 51 times to 43 coaches. The winner is select ...

. He is the son of former NHL general manager and coach

Emile Francis Emile Percival Francis (September 13, 1926 – February 19, 2022), nicknamed "The Cat", was a Canadian ice hockey player, coach, and general manager in the National Hockey League (NHL). He played for the Chicago Black Hawks and New York Rangers f ...

Coaching career

Francis served as a player-coach with the

Salt Lake Golden Eagles The Salt Lake Golden Eagles were a minor professional hockey team based in Salt Lake City from 1969 to 1994. History They played in the Western Hockey League from 1969 to 1974, the Central Hockey League from 1974 to 1984 and the International H ...

of the International Hockey League (IHL) in 1986, followed by four years as head coach of the IHL's

Utah Grizzlies The Utah Grizzlies are a professional ice hockey team in the ECHL. They play their home games at Maverik Center in West Valley City, Utah. Franchise history The current Utah Grizzlies franchise started in 1981 as the Nashville South Stars i ...

. After head coaching stints in the

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league in North America that serves as the primary developmental league of the National Hockey League (NHL). The league comprises 32 teams, with 26 in the United States and 6 in Cana ...

(AHL) for the

Saint John Flames The Saint John Flames were a Canadian ice hockey team in the American Hockey League from 1993 to 2003 in Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada. The Calgary Flames bought and relocated the Utica Devils, to be their AHL affiliate. History The Saint ...

and

Providence Bruins The Providence Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Providence, Rhode Island. They are the American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate of the Boston Bruins of the National Hockey League (NHL). They play at the Amica Mutual Pavilion. Hi ...

, Francis spent two years at the NHL level as an assistant coach to

Pat Burns Patrick John Joseph Burns (April 4, 1952 – November 19, 2010) was a National Hockey League head coach. Over 14 seasons between 1988 and 2004, he coached in 1,019 games with the Montreal Canadiens, Toronto Maple Leafs, Boston Bruins, and New Je ...

of the

Boston Bruins The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston. The Bruins compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The t ...

before being hired by the

in 1999. 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

as Coach of the Year. 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 Richard Gary Bowness (born January 25, 1955) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey coach and player. He was selected in the second round, 26th overall, by the Atlanta Flames in the 1975 NHL Amateur Draft. Bowness has also played for the D ...

. On April 26, 2006, Francis signed a two-year contract to coach

HIFK HIFK, the Idrottsföreningen Kamraterna, Helsingfors (IFK, Helsingfors) rf (officially abbreviated IFK Helsingfors, colloquially often Helsingfors IFK or Helsingin IFK) is a multi-sport association based in Helsinki, Finland. Formed in 1897 on ...

in the Finnish

SM-liiga The Liiga, colloquially called the Finnish Elite League in English or FM-ligan in Swedish, is the top professional ice hockey league in Finland. The league comprises 16 teams from all around Finland with relegation and promotion between the Mest ...

. On December 19, 2006, Francis's contract was terminated.

Personal life

Although Francis was born in

North Battleford North Battleford is a city in west-central Saskatchewan, Canada. It is the seventh largest city in the province and is directly across the North Saskatchewan River from the town of Battleford. Together, the two communities are known as "The B ...

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada. It is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and to the south by the ...

, he spent much of his youth growing up in

Long Beach, New York Long Beach is an oceanfront city in Nassau County, New York, United States. It takes up a central section of the Long Beach Barrier Island, which is the westernmost of the outer barrier islands off Long Island's South Shore. As of the 2020 ...

, while his father was coaching the

New York Rangers The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in New York City. The Rangers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The team plays ...

, 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. The symptoms began showing during the

2003–04 NHL season The 2003–04 NHL season was the 87th regular season of the National Hockey League. The Stanley Cup champions were the Tampa Bay Lightning, who won the best of seven series four games to three against the Calgary Flames. For the fourth time in ...

. Francis also revealed his struggle with alcoholism, which played a key factor in his dismissal from

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

NHL coaching

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Francis, Bobby 1958 births Living people Adirondack Red Wings players American men's ice hockey centers American ice hockey coaches Arizona Coyotes coaches Birmingham Bulls (CHL) players Boston Bruins coaches Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in the United States Canadian ice hockey centres Canadian ice hockey coaches Colorado Flames players Detroit Red Wings players Ice hockey coaches from New York (state) Ice hockey players from New York (state) Jack Adams Award winners Muskegon Mohawks players New Hampshire Wildcats men's ice hockey players Oklahoma City Stars players Sportspeople from Long Beach, New York Ice hockey people from Nassau County, New York Ice hockey people from North Battleford Providence Bruins coaches Salt Lake Golden Eagles (IHL) players Undrafted National Hockey League players