from Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet,

One of the adjectives used to describe new Carolina owner Tom Dundon is “disruptor.”

Three months into his ownership of the Hurricanes, he has sent shockwaves through his organization and the league. The official team release said Ron Francis “will transition into a new role” as president of hockey operations, but make no mistake, this is a firing without removal from the organization. The new general manager will report directly to Dundon, cutting Francis out of the process.

This has been brewing.

On the weekend, there were rumblings Francis was considering resigning. He did not respond to a few requests for comment, so uncertainty prevented any reporting of the story. The shocker was the timing. Why would the Hurricanes do it during a playoff race, four points out with the trade deadline in the rear-view mirror? (Dundon did not respond to a request for comment, but you have to figure he will address the media Thursday).

According to multiple sources, it became obvious the owner and the GM were a bad match.

continued

added 7:57am, from Luke DeCock of the News & Observer,