Goalie Coach Francois Allaire Hired by Toronto Maple Leafs

On the eve of game seven of the Stanley Cup Finals, the biggest goaltending news has to be the move of the guru of the butterfly, goaltending coach Francois Allaire to Toronto. The man who helped bring Patrick Roy to fame and has guided the development of J.S. Giguerre and now Jonas Hiller in Anaheim should be an immediate boost for Toronto.

The story has been covered well in several places:

Here is the official press release, as well as coverage at MapleLeafs.com and while you’re over there, while I couldn’t find any video on Allaire, you might want to look at Ron Wilson’s end of year press conference talking about goaltending.

Paul Hunter of the Toronto Star reports that Allaire is excited to work with Toskala.

Also check out the coverage at CBC sports and the Globe and Mail.

Of course there’s lots in the blogosphere as well:

Toronto Maple Leafs » Blog Archive » Francois Allaire To The Rescue

Thursday news: Burke cleans house; hires Allaire as goalie coach

Leafs land goaltending guru | Habs Inside/Out

Does This Change Things? – The NHL Arena

Toronto Maple Leafs Hire Goaltending Coach Francois Allaire

Check out the Goalie Guild too!

Our friend Justin Goldman of the Goalie Guild wrote the most comprehensive piece I saw today, including a look at the impact on fantasy hockey players.

Besides the obvious help Allaire will bring any goalie there is lots of speculation as what other angle(s) Brian Burke is playing here (pardon the goaltending pun!).

Could Allaire help lure free agent Jonas Gustavsson – who idolizes Patrick Roy?

Can he return Justin Pogge to prize prospect status (assuming Toronto re-signs him)?

Of course the Giguerre to Toronto rumors are sure to catch fire, if they haven’t already.

Frankly, I think it could be two or three of the above. There has been lots of talk about Anaheim having salary cap issues and Burke might think he can pry Giggy away for a song to “help” the Ducks with their problem. Maybe he’ll be offering Toskala straight up saving the Ducks some $2M in the process?