The Carolina Hurricanes signed executive vice president and general manager Ron Francis to a contract extension through the 2018-19 season.

Francis, 53, is entering his 11th season in management with the Hurricanes and third as GM and executive vice president. 

"It was actually pretty simple," Francis said of getting the contract done. "I worked on the extension for [coach] Bill Peters and got that done and a little bit after that when [Hurricanes owner] Mr. Peter Karmanos Jr. was in town and walked into the office and said alright now I want to take care of you. We sat down and he told me what he would like to do and I said 'Pete, that's fair and that's how quickly it went.' It was a matter of getting things signed. I was out of town so we got to announce it today.

"I'm really excited about it. Appreciate the fact he was willing to give me the extension. I think as a management team and coaching staff we're going in the right direction so it's exciting to have the opportunity to continue that and see it get better and better as we move forward."