| With Francois Allaire last season, James Reimer had a 3.10 GAA and .900 save percentage. (Getty Images) |
Francois Allaire, who was hired by the Toronto Maple Leafs to coach their goaltenders, has resigned.
Allaire, who coached such standouts as Patrick Roy and Jean-Sebastien Giguere, was brought to Toronto a three seasons ago to help them sort out the oh-so-troublesome goaltending position. They have been trying for so long to find a solid goalie between the pipes in Toronto that they figured go get the guy who groomed Roy and everything would work out.
Well, things haven't gone as planned in Toronto. Despite Allaire's tutelage, the Leafs' goaltending with the tandem of James Reimer and Jonas Gustavsson has a left a little to be desired.
Then again, perhaps it was because Allaire wasn't doing enough teaching for his liking. On his way out the door, Allaire had some words to say to the National Post and it hardly reflects a well-oiled organization.
"To be honest, I don’t think the Leafs need a goalie coach," Allaire, whose contract expired at the end of the season, said in a phone interview on Monday. "I think they have enough of them. They have two or three guys who were making decisions with the goalies. In the NHL, that’s not the way it works.
"If that's the way they want to operate, then I'm not there."
Ah yes, the old case of too many cooks in the kitchen. Perhaps that's a contributing factor into why good goalie prospect after good goalie prospect never bloomed with the Leafs. It's pretty tough to do your job if another guy is doing the same job as you and giving different instructions/advice. We're lucky the head of one of the goalies didn't explode.
Reimer, who slumped in his sophomore campaign last season after a promising rookie season, admitted that some signals were being crossed.
"I think there was some confusion last year and a couple of misunderstandings. I don't know if everyone clicked last year. There was some trouble in some areas and ... I don't know if I want to get into it that much or comment on it too much. But I know that there were times when he was frustrated that we didn't have more time to work on some stuff."
That's just how you want things to go, right? It's not? Oh.
Allaire leaves this situation in a tough spot. He leaves partially with the stink of the Leafs goaltending position following him whether it was any doing of his or not. At the same time perhaps having one less cook in the kitchen will produce a better result for the Leafs' goaltending tandem. If so, some will say it was Allaire's departure that was the catalyst for the improvement.
Or on the other hand, Allaire could be smart for getting out of dodge now should the Leafs' goaltending woes not improve.
Certainly worth a mention in this development is the possibility of Roberto Luongo coming to Toronto. He has a relationship with Allaire going back to when he was just a wee lad in Quebec learning how to play.
Perhaps it's reasons like this that the Leafs were the only team to not reach the playoffs in between the lockouts.
For more hockey news, rumors and analysis, follow @EyeOnHockey and @StubitsCBS on Twitter and like us on Facebook.