Wait, if I’m not mistaken, didn’t Lafleur come back after retirement? That’d also make him a good candidate, if he played for the Habs again.
Well, I’ll defer to Wings fans then. But I personally always think of Howe when someone talks about the history of the Red Wings. I’m a big fan.
My city is Sacramento, so we have the last 20 or so years of the Kings, most of which pretty much sucked. The rest featured Chris Webber.
And since nobody has done San Francisco yet…
49ers - Joe Montana
Giants - Willie Mays
San Francisco/Bay Area
Current:
49ers - Patrick Willis/Frank Gore/Alex Smith (is Harbaugh eligible? If so, it’s him.)
Raiders - Darren McFadden
Warriors - Steph Curry
Giants - Buster Posey
Athletics - Josh Reddick?
All time:
49ers - Joe Montana
Raiders - Marcus Allen
Warriors - Rick Barry
Giants - Willie Mays
Athletics - Rickey Henderson
Edit: Not enough of a Sharks fan to hazard a guess at their all-timer. Owen Nolan? Guess the current would be Joe Thornton.
Prior to the Big Red Machine, the all-time face of the Reds might have been Ted Kluszewski.
If we’re talking just current ‘face’ I think Garnett is right up there, maybe even number one. He’s certainly a lot more recognizable and just as popular as Rondo or Pierce. I’d also put Auerbach on the short list for historic face. Bird is probably comfortably #1, but Auerbach and Russell are tied for #2.
On that line, the current and historic Patriots face is really the two-headed Brady-Bellichek monster (awkwardly wearing a high-fashion shirt under a ripped-sleeved hoodie).
Finally, if we need a face for the MLS Revolution, and don’t have anyone who follows them more, I’ll throw out Matt Reis. His Garnett-like hairstyle is at least recognizable, he’s been around for a while, and was good enough for a brief National Team stint.
Would Carl Yastrzemski, Carlton Fisk, Jim Rice be possibles?
As a fan of the Ken Burns series, to me the face of the Red Sox is Bill Lee. 
I wouldn’t include coaches which is why I excluded Bellichek and Auerbach.
For the Pats I think you could also make a minor case for Steve Grogan, but he’s been so overshadowed by Brady that it’s not worth worrying about.
The more I think of the case for Garnett is probably stronger than the case for Rondo, simply for personality. Pierce has the same problem in that he’s just not that strong a presence, but his longevity has to count for something.
The only Revs player I could name was Alexi Lalas, but he was only with the team for two seasons.
True, but if he’s not the face of the franchise, at least he’s the hair and beard of it. 
I know how odd it seems- but Texas fans in two cities embraced Nolan Ryan as they’ve rarely embraced any baseball player. He’s ARGUABLY the face of 3 franchises!
I grew up in New York, and disagree with several of your picks.
You’re absolutely right about Joe Namath being all-time face of the Jets, and Tom Seaver will ALWAYS be The Franchise for Mets fans.
But while I loved Phil Simms, most New York fans didn’t (his entire career, fans were ALWAYS cheering for the second stringer behind him, from Scott Brunner to Jeff Hostetler). The face of the Giants is PROBABLY an old-timer like Y.A. Tittle or Sam Huff… but even while Simms was playing, Lawrence Taylor was the
face of the Giants.
The Yankees have had so many superstars and iconic players: Babe Ruth, Joe Dimaggio, Lou Gehrig… but as I’ve always said, for reasons I don’t fully understand, Mickey Mantle had an emotional hold on New York babseball fans that nobody else could match.
For the Knicks, I think it will ALWAYS be Walt Frazier, who had incredible STYLE as well as substance.
I think Tim Lincecum fits a little better. According to the paper he still got the biggest applause in SF during the post-WS parade and the BA loves the seemingly more unconventional just a bit more than the square-jawed choirboy thing. But it is certainly close.
Yaz is a possibility, certainly the face of the franchise for an extended period of time. But he’ll always be overshadowed by Ted Williams. Fisk is beloved but except for that one swing in 1975 he wasn’t nearly as front and center. Jim Rice wasn’t liked enough by anyone to be the face of the franchise for more than a brief period.
Interesting that those three (Williams, Yaz, Rice) played Left Field for the Sox covering 50 years (1939-1989) and all made the HOF. Well, I find it interesting. 
I think these are all about right, although I think Yadier Molina is more “the face” of the current Cards than Carp. You could almost make a case for Freese as well, at least with casual fans.
All-Time Blues face could also easily be Bernie Federko.
Not in St. Louis, though. Warner is a pretty clear winner here, I think, although I might be tempted to throw a vote to Isaac Bruce or Marshall Faulk as well.
Not bad picks at all. Would probably go with Chuck Bednarik for the Eagles, though
You’re probably right.
About Molina. I’m not a Rams fan, so I’ll defer on them.
It would be interesting to see who the “DUH” picks are, where it would be basically unanimous. I don’t think there’d be too many as solid as George Brett.
Bulls: Jordan
SF Giants: Willie Mays
Oilers/Kings: Gretzky
Browns: Jim Brown
Broncos: Elway
I think Mets and Cubs fans would vote nearly unanimously for Tom Seaver and Ernie Banks.
Boston Bruins: Bobby Orr, no one else is even in the discussion.
I’d add:
Indians: Bob Feller
Bruins: Bobby Orr