Toronto Maple Leafs officially hire Rick St. Croix as goaltending coach

TORONTO - The Toronto Maple Leafs have hired Rick St.Croix as their goaltending coach, the team announced Friday.

St. Croix replaces Francois Allaire, who had an acrimonious split with the team earlier this month.

The 57-year-old St. Croix was the goaltending coach for the 1999 Stanley Cup champion Dallas Stars and also served as an assistant coach for the Winnipeg Jets from 1987 to 1989. The Kenora, Ont., native has also served as a goaltending coach and an assistant coach with the AHL's Manitoba/St. John's franchise.

He joins a Maple Leafs team lacking a clear No. 1 goaltender. De facto starter James Reimer has had an inconsistent and injury-plagued NHL career so far, and Ben Scrivens was excellent with the AHL's Toronto Marlies last season but is unproven in the big league.

St. Croix was selected in the fourth round of the 1975 NHL draft and played 130 career NHL games for Toronto and Philadelphia.

His greatest success came in the minors, where he was named AHL first-team all-star in 1980 and an IHL second-team all-star in 1986.

He was a teammate of Maple Leafs general manager Brian Burke on the 1977-78 Maine Mariners team that won the AHL championship.

"I won a Calder Cup with Rick many years ago," Burke said in a statement. "He was calm, intelligent—a student of the game. I think he'll be a great addition to our coaching staff."