Avalanche dismiss assistant coaches Tim Army, Dave Farrish and Francois Allaire

When Jared Bednar was hired as the Colorado Avalanche’s head coach last August, it was decided that three assistant coaches from the former regime of Patrick Roy would stay on. On Tuesday, those three – Tim Army, Dave Farrish and Francois Allaire – were relieved of their duties. No replacements have yet to be named, although Jean-ian Filiatrault, the current goalie coach of the Avs’ San Antonio Rampage AHL affiliate, could be a candidate, and Minneapolis Star Tribune hockey writer Michael Russo tweeted that former NHL goalie Dwayne Roloson has interviewed for the job already.

Allaire, 57, spent four seasons with the Avs while Army, 54, spent six seasons under three coaches. Allaire had let it be known during this past season that he would step down when it was over, so his departure is not a surprise. But for Army and Farrish, the departures amount to a firing.

Army, the former Providence College head coach, was mainly in charge of the offensive side of things, including the power play, while Farrish was mostly in charge of the defense and penalty killing. The Avs finished dead last in the NHL on the power play (12.6 percent) and 29th in penalty killing (76.6).

Allaire, who made his name when he coached Roy as a goalie with Montreal and later found success in Anaheim, helped Semyon Varlamov achieve Vezina Trophy finalist status his first season on the job (2013-14). But the team’s goaltending faltered the next two years.

It remains unclear whether the Avalanche will hire a “full-time” goalie coach moving forward. While Allaire was considered full-time and accompanied the team to most road trips, previous goalie coaches such as Kirk McLean were part-time.

Avs assistant coach Nolan Pratt, whom Bednar worked with in Columbus organization, will stay on.