For months the mainstream media, assorted hockey savants and the citizens of Rangerville have been trying to finger the root cause of the club's disgustingly miserable season.
Take my advice and forget about analytics and the rest of the mystical math; listen up to The Maven because you will get the answer right here in less than two shakes of a lamb's tail.
Call him the club babysitter, counselor, buddy-buddy or shrink – whatever you like – but Benoit (Benny) Allaire meant more to the Rangers than his title of "goaltending coach" ever could tell.
My buddy John Fayolle, the Soho Table Hockey King, also has been a longtime pal and admirer of Allaire. It was Fayolle who tipped me off to the extent of damage –if you will – Benny's "retirement" did to the team.
The downturn began last June when Allaire was, in effect, quitting his full-time Ranger job at age 60. He earned his respite.
"The trouble was," Fayolle insists, and I believe him, "Benoit was impossible to replace because there simply is no one in this wide-wide world like the guy."
An important point to remember is that Allaire was more than merely the goalie coach; much-much more.
"Benny was there for the whole team, not just for Shesterkin and Quick," Fayolle notes. "He has a personality like none other and that enabled him to create a positive atmosphere like neither a head coach nor assistants could achieve."
If you recall, it was Allaire who turned Henrik Lundqvist into a Hall of Famer and Hank was quick to acknowledge the same at his HOF induction ceremony.
"Benoit was the best coach you could ask for," said King Henrik going out of his way to laud his tutor.
Chris Drury replaced – as if such a feat is possible – Benny with Jeff Malcolm. Coincidence or not, Igor Shesterkin's game dropped perceptibly this past season and you have to wonder if he'll ever reach Vezina status again.
"Whether he was a goalie coach or not,"Fayolle concludes, "Allaire is a very special individual. He gave his goalies – and the other players – something positive that nobody else could deliver.
"My conclusion is this; if you're looking for a reason why the Rangers had such a terrible year it was because they had no one like the inimitable Allaire to replace the indispensable Benny!"
The Maven seconds the motion!
