Sports

Aces sign former Las Vegas center Chris Francis

Considering what Chris Francis endured last season -- he played for the Las Vegas Wranglers, the ECHL's worst team, and logged a league tying-low -33 -- he must be psyched to join the Kelly Cup champion Alaska Aces.

The club today announced Francis, 25, a center, as their second signing off the offseason.

Francis last season earned 14-23--37 totals in 64 games with the 20-44-8 Wranglers. The season before, when the Wranglers were above .500, he put up 21-27--48 totals in 69 games.

Don't get too wrapped up in plus-minus because a grim number in that category can often be a reflection of simply playing on a really bad team. For instance, Francis was -33 last season, but two seasons ago he was +8. Or take Peter Sivak, who was -11 in 64 games for the dreadful San Francisco Bulls two seasons ago, then hitched his wagon to the Aces last season and won the circuit's plus-minus title at +49.

We'll try to get up with Francis later today and have a chat. Look for more on this signing later online and Friday morning in the good 'ol dead-trees version of our media enterprise.

Doyle Woody

Doyle Woody covered hockey and other sports for the Anchorage Daily News for 34 years.

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