Longtime Rangers goaltending guru Benoit Allaire officially retiring
Benoit Allaire, the New York Rangers’ longtime “goalie whisperer,” is calling it a career. The Rangers said Saturday that Allaire, who spent the past 22 seasons with the Blueshirts, including the first 20 as goaltending coach, is retiring.
He’ll leave after the NHL Draft in late June and free agency in early July, according to The Athletic.
“Benoit Allaire’s contributions to the Rangers over the past two decades have been immeasurable,” president and general manager Chris Drury said. “Whether it was teaching a Hall of Famer or a rookie just starting his career, Benny made everyone he worked with better.
“On behalf of everyone in the Rangers organization, we wish him and his wife, Lyne, all the best in retirement.”
Allaire began his NHL coaching career with the Montreal Canadiens in 1996-97 as their goaltending coach. He joined the Phoenix Coyotes in the same role the following season and worked with them through the 2003-04 season before joining the Rangers as an assistant and goalie coach in July 2004.
Drury promoted him to director of goaltending as well as goalie coach in June 2021. He served as the director of goaltending for the past two seasons, with Jeff Malcolm taking over the day-to-day responsibilities as goalie coach.
The 62-year-old earned a reputation as one of the finest goalie gurus in the NHL.
Henrik Lundqvist joined the organization in 2000 as a seventh-round draft pick, came to the NHL in 2005 and worked closely with Allaire for all 15 years of “The King’s” Hall of Fame career. Allaire also worked with Igor Shesterkin, who came to the NHL in 2019-20, won the 2022 Vezina Trophy with a 2.07 goals-against average and .935 save percentage and is established as one of the NHL’s elite goaltenders.
Longtime Rangers “goalie whisperer” Benoit Allaire to retire
Lundqvist praised Allaire as the best goalie coach in the NHL throughout his career and gave special thanks to him in his Hockey Hall of Fame induction speech in November 2023 – making a point to give Allaire a heartfelt “thank you.”
“There’s one coach I want to thank a little extra tonight, my goalie coach for 15 years, Benoit Allaire,” Lundqvist said. “He’s incredible. Thinking back, every day, you inspired me in so many ways and you made it fun. The best coach and best friend you could ask for.”
Allaire stayed on through numerous coaching changes, three GMs and three team presidents. In addition to Lundqvist and Shesterkin, he also had a major impact on a number of their backups. Allaire helped take Cam Talbot and Alexandar Georgiev from being minor prospects into regular NHL goalies and then starting goalies for other teams.
He also helped extend Jonathan Quick’s career and had an enormous role in making sure that the Rangers were always set in goal.
“He does a great job of simplifying things so that they don’t come across in a confusing way,” Quick told The Athletic in 2023. “It’s very clear-cut in what he wants to see out of his goalies in different situations. The communication’s been great.”
In 2023-24, Allaire’s final season as goaltending coach, the Rangers set team records for wins (55) and points (114), winning the Presidents’ Trophy as the NHL’s regular-season champion. They defeated the Washington Capitals and Carolina Hurricanes in the Stanley Cup Playoffs before being eliminated by the eventual Stanley Cup champions, the Florida Panthers, in the Eastern Conference Final.
Allaire stepped back from his dual role in the summer of 2024, remaining as director of goaltending with Malcolm taking over as goaltending coach after serving three seasons in the same role for the Rangers’ AHL affiliate, the Hartford Wolf Pack.
