In the tenure of New York Rangers’ legendary goaltender Henrik Lundqvist, he’s known only one goaltending coach, Benoit Allaire. Lundqvist is quick to credit Allaire as a prime contributor to his success in New York. In addition to Lundqvist, Allaire has done great work with the backups. Here we take a look at how Allaire has been able to mold middling backups into capable NHL starters.
If you became a fan of the Rangers in the last few seasons, you might be forgiven for wondering if Henrik Lundqvist is a bit overrated. Lundqvist has been outplayed by his backups Cam Talbot and Antii Raanta for significant stretches.
When the Rangers top goalie went down in 2015 after taking a puck to the throat, Cam Talbot stepped in and excelled. Talbot posted a 17-3-4 record during Lundqvist’s nearly two month absence. He finished the season with a better GAA (2.21) and a higher save percentage (.926) than Lundqvist (2.25 and .922). The team didn’t miss a beat and went on to win the Presidents’ Trophy.
The Rangers traded Talbot to Edmonton after that season for three draft picks. Talbot is playing well for the Oilers and is amongst the league leaders in wins with 33. Talbot credits Allaire for being a big part of his success.
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Before the teams played in November, Talbot was asked about Allaire. “I give Benny a lot of credit and he knows that… I wouldn’t be where I am today without his mentorship and his belief in me in those five years I was in the organization.”
Talbot signed a three-year extension with Edmonton in 2016 worth $12.5 million. Talbot was not a top prospect and was not drafted. Thanks in no small part to Allaire, Talbot is now a top goaltender.
To replace Talbot, the Rangers brought in another undistinguished prospect in Antii Raanta. Raanta was having trouble sticking in Chicago and needed to beat out Magnus Hellberg to get the backup job in New York.
Raanta is in the midst of his second solid season for the Rangers. In 2016-17, he’s gone 13 and 6, with a 2.33 GAA and a .922 save percentage. Lundqvist is 30-17-2, with a 2.65 GAA and .913 save percentage.
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The Finnish netminder played well when Lundqvist struggled in December and January. The backup even started four straight games in December, the only time that has happened to a healthy Lundqvist is his career.
Raanta has also spoken highly of Allaire. Earlier this season he told MSG that “he (Allaire) is so positive and it doesn’t matter if someone scores on you in practice, he comes to you and your confidence goes higher and higher.”
Allaire first made a name for himself in the NHL with the Coyotes, turning Nikolai Khabibulin into a star. In his two years with Allaire, Khabibulin made the All-Star team twice and reduced his goals against average by over half a goal.
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In the off-season, the Coyotes tried to get Allaire to come back to Arizona, where he served as goaltending coach from 1997-2003. Allaire has a house in Arizona, but he declined, citing his long term commitment to the Rangers. Before Arizona, he helped develop prominent Canadian goaltenders, such as Jose Theodore and Jean-Sebastien Giguere, in the junior leagues.
Raanta will be tested for the next few weeks as Lundqvist is out with a muscle strain. The Rangers are unlikely to change their playoff position, however, so it will be a relatively low pressure environment.
There is even speculation that Lundqvist’s injury is minor and the Rangers are just resting him for the playoffs. Still, Raanta has another opportunity to make his case to be a starter for another team and follow the path of Cam Talbot.
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Beniot Allaire has been able to improve goaltenders throughout his career. His importance to Lundqvist is well known, but he is also the main reason why the Rangers have been able to thrive when Lundqvist has been out. Under Allaire’s steady hand, we expect Raanta to play well filling in for Lundqvist.