Maple Leafs can't stay out of their own way, as Allaire leaves town
For an organization that have struggled for years to find a legitimate starting netminder, be it via free agency or through organizational development, you would think the Toronto Maple Leafs would do their best to allow the man they brought in to address this glaring weakness, to simply do his job. Unfortunately, that's not how it works in Toronto, hence the announcement that goaltending consultant Francois Allaire and the club have officially parted ways.
It's a business based on immediate results. You don't get the results, you get fired. I don't place all the blame on Allaire but it's obvious what he was doing simply wasn't working. Pretty awful, near last in the league every year actually. Not all of it is on him though, Burke simply hasn't brought in a goalie. Still boggles my mind that he wouldn't go after Vokoun when it was reported we could have had his rights for a 7th but Burke declined. Foolish going into next season(lockout or not) with the tandem we have. Unless he has someone else in mind, which, if he does, we haven't heard about it. It's a scary proposal going into the next season with Scrivens and Reimer and I don't dislike either guy.
Leafs goaltending CAN'T be any worse. Even Giguere sucked when he was here. Wilson and Allaire ruined Gustavson. The kid was lights out when he got here and only got worse. If Gus plays well in Detroit that should tell you all you need to know.
It's a business based on immediate results. You don't get the results, you get fired. I don't place all the blame on Allaire but it's obvious what he was doing simply wasn't working. Pretty awful, near last in the league every year actually. Not all of it is on him though, Burke simply hasn't brought in a goalie. Still boggles my mind that he wouldn't go after Vokoun when it was reported we could have had his rights for a 7th but Burke declined. Foolish going into next season(lockout or not) with the tandem we have. Unless he has someone else in mind, which, if he does, we haven't heard about it. It's a scary proposal going into the next season with Scrivens and Reimer and I don't dislike either guy.
Can't say i'm sorry to see him go but i do agree when he said the goalie stats were inflated with the ****ed up system RW played . Too bad he didn't say who else was getting invovled with the goalies but it doesn't surprise me to hear it .
It was obvious that Allaire was angry that so many people had their spoon stirring the pot in teaching or having a say with the goalies. He said there were 2 - 3 other goalie coaches who were making decisions with the goalies.
So I guess it makes seance that Allaire was angry or pissed-off. I am not quite sure why he got the full brunt of the under-performing goalie situation here the last few years. When he was simply a consultant and not the actual goalie coach or as he said coaches.
More is not always better imo as goes for the front office I always thought the amount of people he brought in as in assistants and special assistants etc etc was just dumb sure you bring in good hockey minds but you should just trust the people you have or replace them.
Leafs goaltending CAN'T be any worse. Even Giguere sucked when he was here. Wilson and Allaire ruined Gustavson. The kid was lights out when he got here and only got worse. If Gus plays well in Detroit that should tell you all you need to know.
Completely different systems tho. Look at the amount of high quality scoring chances the Wings give up. Look at the way they protect their goalies in the defensive zone. The leafs have a hard enough time with the most basic of defensive zone coverage. The wings could take most average goalies and make them look good simply because their players know the system and follow it to letter.
I for the record never thought Monster was that good, he has that amazing season over seas before coming to NA and he never really gave me the feeling he was ever going to live up to the expectations most had pegged on him. I do think he can rebound in Detroit but then again like I said you could put most NHL goalies on the Red wings and they would put up good numbers.
For the last few years Monster had a tough time stopping routine dump-ins that would totally deflate the team. get caught out of position because he read the play wrong. Giguere had a groin problem when he was in Toronto that stemmed back from his Duck days. after Toronto didn't sign him he elected to get surgery to fix his sports hernia. And magically his play picked up because he got the operation to fix it once he joined the Avs.
So don't say that Allaire ruined Gus, and that he couldn't get Giguere's game back on track. Gus was simply not consistent from shot to shot and Giguere was injured when he came to Toronto. Allaire is a world class goalie coach he sets the bench mark for goalie coaches and it's laughable that so many Toronto fans have focused him as the root of the Maple Leafs goaltending problems.
Face the real facts, Allaire was given some extremely green goaltenders in Gus and JR to work with, he had a injured Giguere who had a chronic groin problem and his goalies were in a system where defense was non existent.
Maple Leafs can't stay out of their own way, as Allaire leaves town
For an organization that have struggled for years to find a legitimate starting netminder, be it via free agency or through organizational development, you would think the Toronto Maple Leafs would do their best to allow the man they brought in to address this glaring weakness, to simply do his job. Unfortunately, that's not how it works in Toronto, hence the announcement that goaltending consultant Francois Allaire and the club have officially parted ways.
I think we all know Allaire was not delivering the results the Leafs organization expected of their goalies for years now. His parting shots just seem like a primadonna guru who had to blame someone else for his own professional failings.
Last edited by ULF_55: 09-18-2012 at 07:55 AM.
Reason: Flaming.
I'd still be very concerned at some of the **** he threw at management - saying that he didn't get enough on-ice time? He wasn't allowed to do his job?
Wtf is that all about? I'd love to hear an explanation, or at the very least have Burke respond to it.
Allaire was given some extremely green goaltenders in Gus and JR to work with, he had a injured Giguere who had a chronic groin problem and his goalies were in a system where defense was non existent.
My concerns about Allaire's approach/results were simply that those extremely green goalies appeared to play progressively worse rather than better under his guidance. It just seems strange that an acknowledged world-class benchmark positional coach would have so little positive impact on players with the greatest opportunity for significant improvements. I mean, you coach a proven vet, the most you can do is a tiny tweak here or there for incremental but not major gains, but kids have countless areas that can get better, you'd think you'd see some more marked improvement in three years of his coaching.
To my mind, the only ways Allaire doesn't own some of those results (or lack of results) is if a) the porous defence in front of the goalies made it impossible for them to establish the confidence needed to improve, or b) his work was contradicted or interfered with throughout his tenure.
To listen to him, both of those things may have indeed been the case, but it's only one perspective, and I'm not inclined to judge without hearing from others involved.
I will say that it would not surprise me at all to hear that the coaching overall around the Leafs was at least somewhat dysfunctional, based on what we've seen over the past few years. The GM is responsible for providing players with talent - but it's then up to the coaches to get the most out of those players, and I think that's something we haven't seen in Leafland in quite some time.
I'd still be very concerned at some of the **** he threw at management - saying that he didn't get enough on-ice time? He wasn't allowed to do his job?
Wtf is that all about? I'd love to hear an explanation, or at the very least have Burke respond to it.
Burke won't throw him under the bus the way Allaire is doing to the Leafs.
I always say, a poor workman quarrels with his tools. Allaire is living up to that adage.
I will say that it would not surprise me at all to hear that the coaching overall around the Leafs was at least somewhat dysfunctional, based on what we've seen over the past few years. The GM is responsible for providing players with talent - but it's then up to the coaches to get the most out of those players, and I think that's something we haven't seen in Leafland in quite some time.
The GM is also responsible for providing leadership & structure within the organization. When you see someone come out & question that it certainly is alarming. Burke has made alot of hirings but is their a method to that madness? Allaires quotes point to no...
Another sign that maybe their are too many cooks in the kitchen. I expect the GM with his blinders on to deflect that in the coming days.
Allaire was a consultant and not a coach. Anyone who has worked as a contract employee knows that they aren't by definition part of the actual company.
He left Anaheim while Carlyle was there and left Toronto after Carlyle arrived. Maybe they don't see eye to eye.
My concerns about Allaire's approach/results were simply that those extremely green goalies appeared to play progressively worse rather than better under his guidance. It just seems strange that an acknowledged world-class benchmark positional coach would have so little positive impact on players with the greatest opportunity for significant improvements. I mean, you coach a proven vet, the most you can do is a tiny tweak here or there for incremental but not major gains, but kids have countless areas that can get better, you'd think you'd see some more marked improvement in three years of his coaching.
To my mind, the only ways Allaire doesn't own some of those results (or lack of results) is if a) the porous defence in front of the goalies made it impossible for them to establish the confidence needed to improve, or b) his work was contradicted or interfered with throughout his tenure.
To listen to him, both of those things may have indeed been the case, but it's only one perspective, and I'm not inclined to judge without hearing from others involved.
I will say that it would not surprise me at all to hear that the coaching overall around the Leafs was at least somewhat dysfunctional, based on what we've seen over the past few years. The GM is responsible for providing players with talent - but it's then up to the coaches to get the most out of those players, and I think that's something we haven't seen in Leafland in quite some time.
I think there might be some credence to the idea that there are too many cooks in the kitchen in general. There's no reason why we need to have Burke, Nonis, Poulin, Loiselle, formerly Dudley, Cliff Fletcher in an advisory role, all managing and Hughes and Staios in development.
That said, Allaire was getting nothing done with our goalies ever since the Toskala days. When goaltending is consistently terrible and the one constant seems to be plummeting confidence in the ranks year after year, an outdated technical guru probably isn't the answer. Allaire comes across as very unprofessional and a total diva. Maybe there was some interference in his coaching because he was utterly useless?
Allaire was a consultant and not a coach. Anyone who has worked as a contract employee knows that they aren't by definition part of the actual company.
He left Anaheim while Carlyle was there and left Toronto after Carlyle arrived. Maybe they don't see eye to eye.
It was mentioned that Allaire's contract was done at the end of ths past season ended. So I think don't he was planning on coming back and it has nothing to do with Randy Carlyle.
Maple Leafs can't stay out of their own way, as Allaire leaves town
For an organization that have struggled for years to find a legitimate starting netminder, be it via free agency or through organizational development, you would think the Toronto Maple Leafs would do their best to allow the man they brought in to address this glaring weakness, to simply do his job. Unfortunately, that's not how it works in Toronto, hence the announcement that goaltending consultant Francois Allaire and the club have officially parted ways.
