Toronto Maple Leafs general manager Brian Burke announced on Friday afternoon that Rick St. Croix has been hired as the club's new goaltending coach. St. Croix's responsibilities will include working with goaltenders at all levels of the Maple Leafs organization, via the official press release:
"I won a Calder Cup with Rick many years ago," said Burke. "He was calm, intelligent – a student of the game. I think he'll be a great addition to our coaching staff."
"We are extremely pleased to add Rick St. Croix to our coaching staff," said Leafs Head Coach Randy Carlyle. "We trust his knowledge and experience with today's model of goaltender and the Leafs are fortunate to get a person of Rick's calibre."
The 57-year-old St. Croix was the goaltending coach for the Dallas Stars when they won the Stanley Cup in 1999 and has coached in the American Hockey League since 2003, spending time with the Manitoba Moose/St. John's IceCaps organization.
St. Croix's hiring comes a little over 10 days after the controversial split between former goaltender consultant Francois Allaire and the Maple Leafs. Allaire stated that the organization was interfering with his work, which made it impossible for him to do his job. Burke and the Maple Leafs contended that Allaire's techniques were out of date:
"The position has evolved in the last three to five years. Nobody plays the classic stand-up any more either. Everything advances."
This story was originally published on SBNation.com.