“They need a new voice,” were the words said by current Florida Panthers head coach Paul Maurice on the day he resigned as head coach of the Winnipeg Jets.
Many ‘what ifs’ came to mind if Maurice had stayed in Winnipeg. Where would the Jets be now? Where would Florida be right now? So much to consider.
Just like that, June 22nd, 2022, came around, and the Florida Panthers struck a deal with Paul Maurice to make him the Panthers’ next head coach. Nearly three years after he was hired, the Panthers have enjoyed success under his coaching strategies. However, that didn’t happen overnight.
After being swept in the second round of the 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs by state rivals, the Tampa Bay Lightning, the Florida Panthers made that coaching change that set the mark for their success. A month later, they acquired Matthew Tkachuk for MacKenzie Weegar, Jonathan Huberdeau, Cole Schwindt, and a 2025 first-round draft pick.
Maurice came into Florida with a belief in the team, and that was that the Panthers were a Stanley Cup contender. He was certainly right about that.
Having top-end talent like Aleksander Barkov, Matthew Tkachuk, Sam Reinhart, and Sergei Bobrovsky gave Maurice more flexibility in what was possible with this group. Secondary contributions weren’t hard to come by as Carter Verhaeghe, Sam Bennett, Nick Cousins, Anton Lundell, and others made themselves known at the most important times.
Bill Zito bolstered the Panthers at each trade deadline, signalling the Panthers know they’re in ‘win-now’ mode. Everything seemingly came together for Zito, Maurice, and the Panthers after they were swept in 2022 by Tampa.
In the 2022-23 season, Florida wouldn’t defend their Presidents’ Trophy, but the team had its eyes set on the Stanley Cup. The Panthers would take a record-setting Boston Bruins team to seven games to advance to the second round. Florida would only lose one game after defeating Toronto in five games in round two and sweeping the Carolina Hurricanes in the Eastern Conference Finals.
That took the Panthers to their first trip to the Stanley Cup Finals since they got swept in the 1996 Stanley Cup Finals by the Colorado Avalanche.
Maurice and the Panthers hoped for a different outcome, but a loaded Vegas team would win their franchise’s first Stanley Cup in five games. Paul Maurice got his second chance to try and win the Stanley Cup, but ultimately fell short.
Was there doubt in his mind? Might there have been more belief sparked in Maurice after losing in the Stanley Cup Final again?
The Panthers improved their win-loss record from 42-32-8 in 2022-23 to 52-24-6 in 2023-24. Rather than being fourth in the Atlantic Division, they ended up in first place.
After a long winter, the Panthers made quick work of the Lightning in the first round, eliminating them in five games. They faced the Boston Bruins in the second round and the New York Rangers in the Eastern Conference Finals, eliminating each team in six games in their respective series.
Paul Maurice found himself in a third Stanley Cup Final, and like the year before, it was going to be no easy task. Florida squared up against two of the greatest players in the world in Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl of the Edmonton Oilers.
Florida looked primed to sweep the Oilers as they took a commanding 3-0 series lead, but the Oilers dug deep and evened the series 3-3.
Sam Reinhart’s goal at 15:11 in the second period of game seven was the game-winning goal, but it would’ve felt like a lifetime for the Panthers.
Edmonton kept pushing, and on several occasions, nearly tied game seven, which would have likely sent it to overtime. However, as the clock kept ticking down, the Panthers came seconds away from hoisting the hardest prize to win in professional sports.
Finally, Maurice got his big moment; he got his Stanley Cup, but he wasn’t done there. The Panthers defended their Stanley Cup by defeating the Edmonton Oilers in six games, a one-game improvement from the seven-game series between both teams in 2024.
Paul Maurice could have retired when he stepped down as head coach of the Winnipeg Jets; he said himself that he was content with where he was. One phone call changed it all for Maurice and the Panthers, and it ultimately landed them in three consecutive Stanley Cup Finals.
ITR 44: We Have A Champion…Again – Inside The Rink
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