A man with a resume highlight that includes Stanley Cup champion is in the news today. The Florida Panthers, in fact the defending Stanley Cup champions, have decided to keep their highly respected head coach around, as Paul Maurice re-signs a contract extension with the club.
One of a kind.
We have agreed to a contract extension with Head Coach Paul Maurice. pic.twitter.com/9Rvo6rc1IG
— Florida Panthers (@FlaPanthers) October 22, 2024
Paul Maurice Re-Signs Contract Extension With Panthers
Paul Maurice, at 57 years old, has a legendary resume for someone of his age. Furthermore, he actually began his terrific coaching career the year following the end of his playing career. When you don’t play after junior, that is a significantly long time. In 1988-89, Maurice took an assistant coach job with the OHL’s Windsor (Compuware) Spitfires. By 1994-95, he had progressed to a champion, as in the head coach of the OHL’s Detroit Junior Red Wings.
This was a strong start to his career to be sure, and earned Maurice his first gig in the show. The following season saw him hired on by the Hartford Whalers. Moreover, he would eventually take over the main coaching job just 13 games into the 1995-96 when he took over for Paul Holmgren. At the time, and it still stands to this day, at 28 years and 281 days, Maurice became the fifth youngest coach in NHL history. In fact, if you look at the list, he was the second youngest going all the way back to 1929. Additionally, his youthfulness and longevity put him in the record books once again. On November 28th, 2010, at the age of 43, Maurice became the youngest NHL head coach ever to hit the 1000-game mark.
Maurice Has Stamped his Place in NHL History Lore
Currently, Maurice is coaching his fourth NHL team. Along with the Panthers, he has coached the Whalers/Carolina Hurricanes, Toronto Maple Leafs, and Winnipeg Jets. He’s beginning to approach the conversation of more legendary coaching records. His 27 seasons as an NHL bench boss has him tied for second, behind only the iconic Scotty Bowman. Also, his 1855 games has him second, to again only Bowman. All that work, culminating in last year’s Stanley Cup really was a long time coming, and the fruit of all those years of labour.
Looking specifically at his time in South Florida, he has coached two full seasons previous to 2024-25. Over that time, he has compiled a .617 regular season winning percentage. Yes, the Panthers have lots of star players, but Maurice has really gotten them to embrace the concept of team. For instance, in a league with players approaching 150 points consistently, the cup winning Panthers from last year only had four players with more than 41 points. As a note, Sam Reinhart led them in scoring with 94. A value that is nowhere near the Art Ross Trophy winner Nikita Kucherov‘s total of 144.
Just to end with a couple stats. Maurice has 70 career playoff wins and 873 in the regular season. Five times he ended a season with a .600 WIN% or better. Also, he had eight seasons below the .500 mark. He truly has been there, done that. Maurice was most deserving of hockey’s ultimate prize, and of course, this contract extension with a Stanley Cup contender.
Main Photo Credit: Jim Rassol-USA TODAY Sports
