Report: Francis, Fletcher among early candidates for new Flyers GM

Ron Francis and Chuck Fletcher are reportedly among the early candidates to replace the recently fired Ron Hextall as general manager of the Philadelphia Flyers, according to TSN's Darren Dreger.

Francis served as director of hockey operations for the Carolina Hurricanes starting in 2011 before becoming the team's general manager in 2014. His contract was terminated this past April.

During his tenure in Carolina, Francis oversaw several draft-day steals including Jaccob Slavin (fourth round, 2012), Brett Pesce (third round, 2013), and Sebastian Aho (second round, 2015).

Fletcher, the son of legendary NHL executive Cliff Fletcher, was the general manager of the Minnesota Wild for nearly a decade from 2009 until his dismissal in April.

He too has a fairly successful draft history, but his most notable move was signing Ryan Suter and Zach Parise to identical 13-year, $98-million contracts on July 4, 2012.