- Does lots of charity work for the Special Olympics, his brother Rick is a special olympian as he suffers from epilepsy.
- He and Gordie Howe are the only two players in NHL history to score at least 50 points for at least 20 consecutive seasons.
- Spent the majority of his career with the Hartford Whalers/Carolina Hurricanes, which picked him 4th overall in the 1981 NHL draft. Traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins in 1991, he signed with the Hurricanes a year after it moved Raleigh. Carolina traded him to Toronto for a 2005 4th round pick on March 9, 2004.
- Has three children with wife Mary-Lou, a daughter Kaitlyn and sons Michael and Connor
- Is the Whalers/Hurricanes' all-time leader in games played (1,036), goals (350), assists (738), points (1,088), hat tricks (9), game-winning goals (55) and power-play goals (119).
- Led the Hartford Whalers in scoring 7 times and assists 10 times.
- Named to NHL All-Star team as a member of the Whalers/Hurricanes franchise four times (1983, 1985, 1986, 1990).
- Owns the Whalers/Hurricanes' records for most 20-goal seasons with 12, most assists in a season (69 in 1989-1990), most assists by a rookie (43 in 1981-1982), most goals in a game (4 - 2/12/84 against Edmonton), most assists in a game (6 - 3/5/87 against Boston) and most points in a game (6 - 3/5/87 against Boston; 10/8/89 at Quebec - 3g, 3a).
- Ranks fifth in league history in points (1,701) and second in assists (1,187)
- Ranks first in Hartford Whalers/Carolina Hurricanes' playoff history in points (39), goals (14), assists (25) and games played (62).
- Signed as a free agent by Carolina July 13, 1998
- Traded to Pittsburgh on March 4, 1991 with Ulf Samuelsson and Grant Jennings for John Cullen, Zarley Zalapski and Jeff Parker.
- Trailed only Mark Messier among then-active players in points until Messier retired.
- Was Named Team Captain of Hartford (1984-1991), Pittsburgh (1995, 1997), and Carolina (1999 - 2004).
- Winner of the King Clancy Trophy (2002)
- Won Alka-Seltzer Plus Award (1995)
- Won Frank J. Selke Trophy (1995)
- Won Lady Byng Trophy (1995, 1998, 2002)
- Francis, Mario Lemieux and Jaromír Jágr were known as Pittsburgh's Big Three.
- (September 14) Announced his retirement after 23 seasons. The Carolina Hurricanes retired his jersey the following January. (2005)
- Returning to the Carolina Hurricanes for another season (July 2002)
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