François Allaire (born October 11, 1955) is a Canadian former professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...

goaltending coach who most recently coached for the

Colorado Avalanche The Colorado Avalanche (colloquially known as the Avs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Denver. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference. The Avalanche play thei ...

of the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

(NHL). He developed considerable expertise during the 1980s as the

Montreal Canadiens The Montreal CanadiensEven in English, the French spelling is always used instead of ''Canadians''. The French spelling of ''Montréal'' is also sometimes used in the English media. (french: link=no, Les Canadiens de Montréal), officially ...

' first goaltending coach. In the 1990s, he promoted his methods to the younger generation of goalies, making his technique a new standard. The "Allaire style" stresses sound positioning, getting down into the

butterfly Butterflies are insects in the macrolepidopteran clade Rhopalocera from the Order (biology), order Lepidoptera, which also includes moths. Adult butterflies have large, often brightly coloured wings, and conspicuous, fluttering flight. The ...

, and taking up as much net as possible. He encouraged his goalies to wear the biggest allowable gear. He now serves as a goaltending consultant with the Florida Panthers.

National Hockey League career

Allaire successfully mentored

Patrick Roy Patrick Jacques Roy (; born October 5, 1965) is a Canadian retired professional ice hockey goaltender and executive, who serves as the head coach for the Quebec Remparts of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL). In 2017, Roy was named o ...

, winning

Stanley Cup The Stanley Cup (french: La Coupe Stanley) is the championship trophy awarded annually to the National Hockey League (NHL) playoff champion. It is the oldest existing trophy to be awarded to a professional sports franchise in North America, an ...

s in

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. **Spain and Portugal ente ...

and

1993 File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peace ...

. In

2003 File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during reentry into Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an epidemic in China, and was a precursor to SARS-CoV-2; A des ...

, he guided the relatively unheralded

Jean-Sébastien Giguère Jean-Sébastien Giguère (; born May 16, 1977) is a Canadian retired professional ice hockey goaltender. He played with the Halifax Mooseheads in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL), where he was drafted 13th overall by the Hartford Wh ...

to the

Conn Smythe Trophy The Conn Smythe Trophy (french: Trophée Conn Smythe) is awarded annually to the most valuable player (MVP) of his team during the National Hockey League's (NHL) Stanley Cup playoffs. It is named after Conn Smythe, the longtime owner, general man ...

as the most valuable player in the

Stanley Cup Playoffs The Stanley Cup playoffs (french: Les séries éliminatoires de la Coupe Stanley) is an elimination tournament in the National Hockey League (NHL) consisting of four rounds of best-of-seven series to determine the league champion and the winner ...

. He won a third Stanley Cup championship with the

Anaheim Ducks The Anaheim Ducks are a professional ice hockey team based in Anaheim, California. The Ducks compete in the Western Conference of the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division, and play their home games at Honda Center. ...

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister of Pakistan, Pr ...

. On 10 June 2009, Allaire left the Ducks to join the

Toronto Maple Leafs The Toronto Maple Leafs (officially the Toronto Maple Leaf Hockey Club and often referred to as the Leafs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Div ...

, resuming a working relationship with Brian Burke, Toronto's former general manager, who had served as Anaheim's GM since 2005 before joining the Maple Leafs in November 2008. Allaire was later reunited with Giguère when Giguère was traded for

Vesa Toskala Vesa Tapani Toskala (born May 20, 1977) is a Finnish former professional ice hockey goaltender. After initially playing for his hometown team Ilves of the SM-liiga, Toskala played the majority of his professional career in the National Hockey Le ...

and Jason Blake on January 31, 2010. Allaire mentored both

Jonas Gustavsson Jonas Gustavsson (; born 24 October 1984) also known by his nickname The Monster is a Sweden, Swedish former professional ice hockey goaltender who last played for Linköping HC of the Swedish Hockey League (SHL). Gustavsson previously played ...

and starting goalie

James Reimer James is a common English language surname and given name: *James (name), the typically masculine first name James * James (surname), various people with the last name James James or James City may also refer to: People * King James (disambiguat ...

until leaving the Maple Leafs in September 2012. Allaire again reunited with Giguère after being hired as the goaltending coach in Colorado. His brother Benoit Allaire, also a goaltending coach, has worked for the

Phoenix Coyotes The Arizona Coyotes are a professional ice hockey team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Coyotes compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference and currently play at the Mull ...

and is currently with the

New York Rangers The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home ...

. Allaire retired from coaching in 2017.

References

External links

*
ESPN interview with Allaire shortly after Patrick Roy announced his retirement from professional hockey
1955 births Living people Anaheim Ducks coaches Colorado Avalanche coaches Montreal Canadiens coaches Stanley Cup champions Toronto Maple Leafs coaches {{Canada-icehockey-coach-stub