NHL legend Ron Francis joins Raleigh real estate firm

The Triangle’s commercial real estate scene has a new recruit.

Ron Francis, who played 23 seasons in the National Hockey League and became general manager of the Carolina Hurricanes, is changing careers. He will join NAI Carolantic Realty, which Chairman Steve Stroud founded in 1972.

“It’s been a long time since I’ve been the rookie,” Francis quipped.

Francis, 55, met Stroud through Stroud’s role on the Centennial Authority and they once traveled to Rocky Mount on a naming rights pitch…