The "My NHL" on the corner boards of the RBC Center was replaced Saturday with a white "10" on a red background, a reminder even before the night began that it might be somebody's NHL, but this was Ron Francis' evening.

Then the Carolina Hurricanes took the ice for warm-ups, each one wearing Francis' jersey, and the cheers started and never really stopped.

The applause and chanting accompanied Francis onto the ice, echoed throughout his speech, escorted the banner bearing his name and number to the ceiling and encouraged a performance from his former team that truly honored its 42-year-old former captain with a 4-1 win over the Atlanta Thrashers.

His voice cracking at times but still maintaining the "even keel" that was his playoff mantra, Francis thanked the Hurricanes, the trainers, equipment managers and coaches who helped him, his former teammates and his friends and family.

The most important of the latter stood on the red carpet beside him -- his close friends and former teammates Jay Caufield, Ed Olczyk and Tom Barrasso, his wife Mary Lou, his daughter Kaitlyn, his sons Michael and Connor, his brother Ricky, his father Ron and mother Lorita.

But Francis, who said his speech went through at least six revisions, saved his longest thanks for the fans who became his neighbors when he moved to North Carolina in 1998. He was rewarded for a leap of faith that the franchise could develop the kind of fans so excited to remember Francis' career Friday and so excited by the Canes' run to the Stanley Cup finals in 2002.

"I had heard it was a beautiful place to live and a great place to raise a family," Francis said. "I'm glad to say I found both statements to be true. What I didn't know was the passion fans in this area bring to their sports. ... To see people waiting at the airport when we arrived home from the games in the wee hours of the morning. To live among the people of Raleigh as they showed their passion for the team with flags and banners and signs of encouragement. To see Duke, Carolina and State fans actually rooting for the same team!"

That brought some of the loudest cheers of the night, perhaps because it symbolized everything Francis brought to the Canes, and by extension, the Triangle. With Francis leading the way, the Canes acted as a catalyst to unify the area.

It was a fitting moment to look back on those days. Outside the arena, with the sun still hanging in the sky on a beautiful day, the parking lots were clogged with tailgaters three hours before game time. Inside the over-capacity arena, even the "Dumb and Dumber" guys were back on the bandwagon, their fluorescent tuxedos out of mothballs for the occasion.

So often, that playoff run hangs over the team's present as a taunting reminder of how good it once was, with just about everything since unfavorably compared. But on this night, the past seemed vibrant, palpable, perhaps because this edition of the Hurricanes has recaptured at least a little of that magic, and not just for this night.

Leave it to Francis, though, to find a way to look to the future. Before his last lap on the ice began, Francis shook the hands of all the current Hurricanes, stopping at the end of the bench as Eric Staal hopped over the boards at Francis' request

The two paused for a picture, Staal closer in age to the two Francis sons standing next to him than their father, but the unquestioned bearer of the mantle Francis carried for so long -- if not the captain yet, certainly the focal point and identity of the franchise now and, the Canes hope, for years to come, long after Francis is inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2007.

"How could you not love it?" Staal said. "It was a great feeling. I'm looking forward to being here a long time and helping this team win championships. Him asking me to shake his hand was a little shock and a lot of fun."

Francis left the ice for the last time with his boys at his side -- "Dad, this is really cool," Michael kept yelling -- exiting the rink at its north end, the banner bearing his number hanging above him in front of the banners marking the conference title and two division titles he won with Carolina.

"It was an honor and privilege to play in front of you," Francis had said during his speech, and the prolonged ovation made it clear that the feeling was mutual.

Then he waved, took a bow, and stepped into the shadows.