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[REPORT] Francois Allaire Quits Leafs Goalie Coach Position


elvis15

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Burke Blasts Performance Of Francois Allaire

Maple Leafs General Manager Brian Burke agrees there was interference with goaltending consultant Francois Allaire but said the pressure came in an attempt to spur a revamp of Allaire’s techniques.

"I regret that I have to deal with this matter publicly but I feel the need to respond. Was there interference from the staff as he said there was? Yes. But it was done reluctantly and it was done to change elements of our goaltending that was sub-par."

Burke, who hired Allaire away from his former team in Anaheim three years ago, said Allaire wasn’t going to be asked back after the club finished 29th in goals against with a bloated 3.16 average. That’s 1.26 goals a game higher than the St. Louis Blues’ league-leading total. The Leafs finished 24th and 29th in goals against in Allaire’s two other seasons.

...

Despite rave reviews in Sweden, goalie Jonas Gustavsson struggled under Allaire. But Gustavsson, who signed with Detroit as a free agent in July, steadfastly defended his coaching. Incumbent James Reimer enjoyed an excellent half season under Allaire in 2009-2010 but the deterioration of his play was written off as the results of a head-hit in his sixth game. He credits Allaire with getting him into the NHL.

Allaire devised his technique working with Patrick Roy in Montreal from the mid 1980s to mid 1990s. That partnership yielded a pair of Stanley Cups. Allaire coached Jean-Sebastien Giguere when he captured the Conn Smythe Trophy in 2003. Giguere was in goal and coached by Allaire when the Ducks won the Stanley Cup under Burke in 2007 but Giguere struggled in his second season when reunited with Allaire in Toronto. He rebounded last season in Colorado.

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I highly doubt that Burke regretted having to deal with the matter publicly.

Not sure if a new goaltending coach is the answer to better goaltending in TO. The answer to better numbers for a goalie there might be to move on, like Gustavsson.

Their neverending goaltending circus is very familiar. Like Burke's time here. But in Anaheim they were all just a big happy family. Hmmm...

I think if the Canucks were based in the US, they'd have a cup by now.

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Like golatending coach, like goaltender. I guess Allaire couldn't handle the competition just like Luongo. :bigblush:

I wonder if Florida snatches him up now. If that happens I think a deal is pretty likely.

Or should the Canucks hire him? They've wanted this guy for Luongo since he arrived here. We could have one coach for Luongo, and one coach for Schneider. Clearly Melanson's style wasn't jiving with Lu. He's too set in his ways.

He's a way better goalie when he's aggressively challenging the shooters. His lateral movement isn't good enough to work with Melanson's style.

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haha - fighting over who is to blame for the fact that the Leafs are porous. What one person could really make much of a difference? A goalie coach can't replace their sad blueline. It's the Leafs. Their best players are vacant. I mean come on, Phaneuf is their captain. Their 'best' forward floats more than a buoy. Throwing youngsters in goal and expecting the sad Leafs to be able to protect them is a losing proposition. Their whole roster needs an overhaul.

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Hadn't seen this until today, but there were a few more updates on why Allaire left.

• In late fall, with the team trying to improve its penalty killing, assistant coach Greg Cronin wanted to have Allaire and the goalies sit in on penalty-killing meetings. Allaire didn’t want that. Cronin said he’d already talked to James Reimer.

Allaire warned Cronin not to speak to his goalies. Cronin responded in a most unfriendly way, and unrest within the staff was born.

• Ron Wilson, dismayed with how Jonas Gustavsson and Reimer were playing so passively deep in the crease, asked Allaire in early February to get them to play more aggressively. Allaire said he had no intention of altering the way his goalies were playing.

Wilson, out of sheer frustration, finally went directly to the goalies, bypassing the celebrated goalie guru. Soon, Allaire and the other coaches weren’t even on speaking terms.

• Randy Carlyle, who had worked with Allaire in Anaheim, gave the goalie coach a list of three conditions he would have to meet if he wanted to return for the 2012-13 season. The list included: working a maximum 17 days a month, including six with the Marlies, rather than being around the team every day; apologizing to the coaches on staff he had offended; and a commitment to teaching a more aggressive goaltending style.

Allaire refused to agree to any of the three conditions.

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