Dundon says Francis move wasn't about him: 'I don't want to make decisions'

Tom Dundon insists removing Ron Francis as the Carolina Hurricanes general manager wasn't an effort by the new owner to seize more control over hockey decisions.

Dundon shed more light Thursday morning on the move to strip Francis of the GM title and appoint him president of hockey operations, attempting to dispel the notion that the change was about giving himself more control.

“I think what I’m looking for, is we have to be comfortable with each other. That’s the most important thing,” he told Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman when asked what he wants in a new GM. “I actually like to disagree and argue. I don’t want someone to come in and just do what I say, and I don’t want to make decisions. (I want) someone to create a structure of how something is a good idea, and now we are going to get it (done).”

The new GM will report directly to Dundon rather than to Francis, and the owner explained that the two executives simply have vastly different approaches.

“I want to use Ron’s experience and knowledge with a different style and structure,” Dundon said. "He is a valuable resource. But our styles couldn’t be any different. It is no more complicated than that.”

Dundon officially took over as the Hurricanes new majority owner in January. Francis had been the GM since 2014.