Panthers name Paul Maurice head coach

Florida Panthers (Wikimedia Commons)

According to the Associated Press on Thursday, Paul Maurice of Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario has been named the new head coach of the Florida Panthers. The Panthers become the fourth National Hockey League organization he has coached following 13 seasons with the Carolina Hurricanes/Hartford Whalers (1995 to 2004 and again from 2008 to 2012), two seasons with Toronto Maple Leafs (2006 to 2008), and nine seasons with the Winnipeg Jets (2013 to 2022).

Maurice has a NHL regular season career record of 775 wins, 681 losses, 99 losses and 130 losses in extra time for a winning percentage of .528. He has also guided the team he has coached to nine postseasons including the Hurricanes to the 2002 Stanley Cup Finals. There, Carolina lost to the Detroit Red Wings in five games.

This past season Maurice was coaching the Jets for the first 29 games and had a record of 13 wins, 11 regulation losses, and five losses in extra time. He resigned on December 17, and the Jets hired Dave Lowry of Sudbury, Ontario as their interim head coach.

In Florida, Maurice takes over interim head coach Andrew Brunette. This past season, the Panthers were great in the regular season as they won the Presidents’ Trophy for the most points in the regular season (122). Problem is once they got to the playoffs, Florida was completely lousy in the second round. They were swept by a much more talented Tampa Bay Lightning squad.

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