The Colorado Avalanche will stick with Jared Bednar as their head coach for next season, but he’ll be surrounded by a different group. Francois Allaire, Tim Army and Dave Farrish will not return for 2017-18. The Avalanche obviously wanted to shake up at least part of the staff after the complete disaster that was the past season. Bednar will now be able to be part of the hiring process to try and build a cohesive team.
Allaire had been the team’s goalie coach for four seasons, hired by the team after an explosive exit from the Maple Leafs in which he was criticized for his performance. Allaire claimed that he had been micro-managed, with his coaching being interfered with by the front office. Known for his butterfly style that created a Conn Smythe winner in Jean-Sebastien Giguere, Allaire faced criticism from Brian Burke on his exit from Toronto. Semyon Varlamov, Calvin Pickard and Giguere himself had found great success in Allaire’s first three years with the team, though the club finished second last in save percentage this season.
Farrish also spent time with the Maple Leafs, but was similarly let go while Randy Carlyle remained the head coach after a disappointing season. The former NHL defenseman has been coaching professional hockey since 1989 when he took over as head coach of the Moncton Hawks of the AHL. He had been with Colorado for two seasons and will likely find another landing spot around the league in no time.
Army had been with the Avalanche for six seasons and is a long-time assistant coach in the league. Between stints as the head coach for his alma mater Providence College he has served on the benches of Anaheim and Washington. He also spent three seasons as the head coach of the AHL’s Portland Pirates (now the Springfield Thunderbirds).