George Richards, FHN Publisher
The Florida Panthers are making yet another addition to their front office staff as they hired esteemed coach Francois Allaire as a goaltending consultant reuniting him with former pupil Roberto Luongo.
As first reported by Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic, Allaire was officially named to the Florida staff on Tuesday afternoon.
Allaire — whose contributions to coaching the goalie position has people talking about a potential Hall of Fame induction — will be an addition to an already impressive goaltending staff in Florida.
Goalie coach Robb Tallas, who has been with the team since 2009 and has served under every Florida coach since Pete DeBoer, will remain as the on-ice goaltending coach.
With the hiring of Allaire, the Panthers will have four staff members with extensive goaltending experience: Roberto Luongo (who is special advisor to GM Bill Zito), Allaire, Tallas and Leo Luongo — who will remain the team’s AHL goaltending coach.
“I’m proud and excited to be part of this encompassing new goaltending operation,” Allaire said in a statement.
“Our collection of goaltending knowledge is extraordinary, and our players will have the benefit of a collaborative, united coaching experience throughout their careers with the Panthers. I’m thrilled to work with this talented group in establishing an unparalleled product of scouting, development and teaching.”
Said Luongo: “This new endeavor for our organization is incredibly special. I’m honored to welcome Francois, whose impact on the goaltending position stands second to none.
“Each member of our goaltending excellence staff has traveled a different path and possesses a unique set of experiences and knowledge. I have a tremendous deal of respect for this group and couldn’t be more excited for the future.”
Allaire was Roberto Luongo’s goalie coach as a teenager in Montreal and was very instrumental in his development.
The two worked together during the offseason and, in 2006, one of Luongo’s demands to then-Florida GM Mike Keenan in a contract dispute was for Florida to hire Allaire as the Panthers’ new goalie coach.
Luongo was not re-signed and was traded to Vancouver before returning in a 2014 trade.
In Columbus, Zito was part of the Blue Jackets hiring legendary goalie coach Jim Corsi as the organization’s goaltender development coach with Manny Legace as the team’s goalie coach.
Allaire, 65, has been out of coaching since retiring as Colorado’s goalie coach three years ago.
Hired as the first goalie coach of the Montreal Canadiens in 1985, Allaire coached Patrick Roy before leaving to coach with the Anaheim Ducks in 1996.
Allaire left Anaheim to be reunited with former Ducks GM Brian Burke in Toronto before leaving there to coach in Colorado where he was reunited with Roy — then the Avs’ head coach.
Over his years as a goalie coach, Allaire won the Stanley Cup twice with Roy in Montreal and in 2007 with Jean-Sebastien Giguere in Anaheim.
Florida Chief Commercial Officer Shawn Thornton was part of that Ducks’ championship team as well.
The Panthers have an deep history of goaltending since its expansion days with John Vanbiesbrouck leading the team to the Stanley Cup Finals in its third season.
Since then, the Panthers have had the likes of Roberto Luongo, Trevor Kidd, Tomas Vokoun, Craig Anderson and Tim Thomas in their net.
Florida currently has Sergei Bobrovsky and Chris Driedger on its NHL roster with Sam Montembeault, Philippe Desrosiers and Ryan Bednard at the minor league level.
Spencer Knight, Florida’s first-round pick in 2019, is their goalie of the future as he is off to a terrific start to his sophomore season at Boston College.
Expected to be the Team USA starter at the upcoming World Juniors, Knight is 4-0 with Boston College with two shutouts.
The 19-year-old has a goals-against average of 1.50 all while making 96 percent of his saves.
The hiring of Allaire is yet another big front office move made since Zito was hired in September.
Since Zito was hired to replace Dale Tallon as GM, the Panthers have hired former NHL general managers Rick Dudley and Paul Fenton as well as new assistant GMs Brett Peterson and Paul Krepelka.
The Panthers have also added Gregory Campbell, Blake Geoffrion, P.J. Fenton and Tom Bark.
Most recently, Shane Churla was hired away from Montreal to be Florida’s new director of amateur scouting.