Patrick Roy’s first significant act as vice president and head coach of the Colorado Avalanche will be reuniting with his mentor.
Colorado has agreed to hire goaltending coach Francois Allaire to a three-year deal, TVA Sports’ Louis Jean reports.
The first-ever goaltending coach of the Montreal Canadiens, Allaire guided Roy the player to Stanley Cup championships in 1986 and 1993. He also coached Jean-Sebastien Giguere to a Conn Smythe Trophy in 2003, and won the Cup with Giguere and the Anaheim Ducks in 2007.
Allaire’s previous contract, with the Toronto Maple Leafs, expired at the end of the 2011-12 season. Brian Burke, then GM of the Leafs, decided not to renew Allaire’s contract and replaced him with Rick St. Croix.
“To be honest, I don’t think the Leafs need a goalie coach,” Allaire told the National Post last year upon his dismissal. “I wasn’t getting enough ice time. I wasn’t the only guy with (the goalies). It’s not fair to the kids, not fair to me, not fair to anybody… I didn’t feel like I could work in this situation.”
The Avalanche job reunites Allaire with not only Roy but veteran Giguere. The Avs’ backup is signed through 2013-14, as is starter Semyon Varlamov.
In 2012-13, the Avalanche ranked 27th in the NHL in goals against, surrendering 3.12 goals per game.
