The Paul Maurice Effect: How the Panthers' head coach helped create a monster

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- Tomas Nosek was experiencing each hockey player's worst nightmare.

It was overtime successful Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final, and the seasoned fourth-line guardant for the Florida Panthers was sitting successful the container for a hold of crippled punishment aft flipping a puck implicit the solid with 1:42 remaining successful other time. He could lone ticker helplessly from determination arsenic Edmonton's Leon Draisaitl scored the crippled victor connected the ensuing powerfulness play.

That was a devastating infinitesimal for Nosek. The effect from manager Paul Maurice was to guarantee that the crushing feeling wouldn't linger.

"You conscionable punctual him aft the crippled of being down 2-0 to Toronto [in the 2nd round] erstwhile that [fourth] enactment came successful and changed everything for us," Maurice said successful his postgame media availability. "And however we are not present [in the Final] without Tomas. It's a pugnacious break. So, we'll conscionable marque definite helium doesn't devour unsocial tonight. He's got tons of radical sitting astatine his array and reminding him however bully he's been to us."

Nosek didn't spot that benignant of empathy coming. The 32-year-old has skated for 5 NHL clubs successful his vocation and called the enactment with Maurice pursuing his gaffe peculiar compared to different dressing rooms.

"He's a tremendous person. He said immoderate things that helium didn't request to say, but helium said it," Nosek said. "And that's what makes him, for me, a really, truly bully manager and a truly bully idiosyncratic arsenic well."

Like Nosek, Maurice has journeyed astir the league. It's astatine his sixth halt -- down the Panthers' seat -- wherever helium has created his finest work. It's not conscionable that helium has guided Florida to a 3rd consecutive Cup Final, wherever the Panthers are vying for a 2nd consecutive rubric aft claiming the organization's archetypal 1 12 months ago. Maurice has been astatine the halfway of his team's taste movement.

Before Maurice arrived successful 2022, the Panthers were a bully squad connected the cusp of greatness. Three years later, Florida is verging connected dynastic territory.

That's not each Maurice's doing, of course. But whether helium takes recognition oregon not, Maurice has been a linchpin successful making the Panthers shine, some arsenic a radical and individuals.

"Every azygous feline respects him truthful much," guardant Sam Bennett said. "When helium speaks, everyone's listening, and I deliberation the team's truly conscionable bought into the civilization that he's implemented into this team. We're each consenting to bash immoderate it takes and play that hard benignant that helium keeps preaching to us, nighttime successful and nighttime out, and we've each conscionable bought into that implicit the years."

IT WAS JUST PRIOR to Christmas successful 2021 erstwhile Maurice believed his clip was up.

He had been the Winnipeg Jets' caput manager for 9 seasons and could see, with the squad limping done a 4-7-2 stretch, that they needed idiosyncratic other to commencement calling the shots.

"If you'll let maine immoderate arrogance, I consciousness I'm amended positioned than anyone to cognize that they request a caller voice," Maurice said portion announcing his resignation. "They request idiosyncratic that tin get them to that adjacent place."

Ironically, the aforesaid would soon beryllium existent of the Panthers. Little did Maurice cognize astatine the clip helium was the close antheral for that job. Because erstwhile Maurice was bowing retired successful Winnipeg, helium cited a nonaccomplishment of passionateness for the crippled itself and swore that without recapturing it, "you can't beryllium arsenic bully arsenic you could beryllium oregon should be, and that's however I feel."

While Maurice was contemplating his future, the Panthers were basking successful their present. Florida tore up the NHL with a 122-point showing successful 2021-22 to gain the franchise's archetypal Presidents' Trophy arsenic the league's apical regular-season team. That accolade didn't service them good successful the postseason though, wherever Florida flamed retired successful a second-round expanse by the Tampa Bay Lightning.

It was Florida, then, that needed the caller voice. After the season, GM Bill Zito parted with interim caput manager Andrew Brunette, who had taken implicit erstwhile Joel Quenneville resigned successful October pursuing intersexual battle allegations reported by Kyle Beach against the Chicago Blackhawks during Quenneville's tenure there.

Despite however acold Brunette had taken Florida, Zito wanted to woo idiosyncratic other for the imperishable relation -- and Maurice was consenting to springiness his past emotion 1 past chance.

It's been a lucifer made successful heaven, successful much ways than one.

Maurice was hardly successful the fold erstwhile Zito rocked the hockey satellite with a blockbuster commercialized successful July 2022, shipping the Panthers' apical scorer Jonathan Huberdeau and defenseman MacKenzie Weegar to the Calgary Flames for guardant Matthew Tkachuk.

That haymaker dwarfed the Maurice news, but some acquisitions were integral to redefining the Panthers' brand. Tkachuk exemplified the benignant of physically focused operation Maurice was sermonizing. Almost successful 1 fell swoop, Florida had recovered harmony betwixt a superstar and coach. Easy capable past to get everyone other connected committee too, what with Maurice's knack for knowing however to work his room.

"He's open, honorable and speaks his mind," guardant Evan Rodrigues said. "I don't deliberation helium holds backmost by immoderate means. [He's] precise smart. Knows benignant of what to accidental and erstwhile to accidental it, and does a large occupation of motivating us."

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1:27

Matthew Tkachuk: 'When we're playing astatine our best, we're beauteous hard to beat'

Matthew Tkachuk speaks with Emily Kaplan astir the Florida Panthers' pursuit of back-to-back Stanley Cup championships and what it would mean for their legacy.

Talking mightiness beryllium 1 of Maurice's top strengths -- unless it's astir himself. Maurice earned his 1,000th vocation triumph erstwhile Florida topped Edmonton 6-1 successful Game 3 of the Cup Final connected Monday, an accomplishment helium declined specifically commenting on. But Maurice was touched to perceive Bennett's comments astir the Panthers' esteem for their coach, calling it "a precise benignant thing" for his apical skater to accidental astir however Maurice has handled starring the Panthers.

"If you locomotion into the country and you conscionable archer the truth," Maurice said, "whether they privation to perceive it oregon not but it's the truth, and implicit clip you could look backmost and accidental what that idiosyncratic told maine was the truth, you'll person respect for that, I think. So I enactment hard astatine trying to find the information each time and past conscionable telling it arsenic simply arsenic I tin with the occasional gag slipped in. Most times I'm the lone 1 that thinks it's funny."

Carter Verhaeghe can't suppress a grin erstwhile asked astir Maurice and the quirks that marque him a unsocial property successful today's game.

"He's 1 of a kind," Verhaeghe said. "We spot his consciousness of wit with [the media] and helium benignant of has the aforesaid consciousness of wit with us. He keeps everything airy but makes you privation to work; and for the close reasons, for each other. At immoderate fixed time, helium knows what the radical needs ... it keeps america escaped and focused astatine the aforesaid time."

Fortunately for Maurice it's not his comedic timing that has cemented the Panthers' presumption arsenic a destination spot for players -- peculiarly those successful hunt of revitalizing their résumé. While it utilized to beryllium -- and inactive is -- thought that Florida's deficiency of authorities income taxation is what drives NHL escaped agents to their doorstep, the propulsion of a Panthers' sweater goes beyond the imaginable to prevention immoderate cash. Florida is 141-87-18 nether Maurice, a perennial playoff powerhouse and wields immoderate benignant of elixir that, erstwhile injected into countless newcomers, has resulted successful immoderate of their champion years ever.

Just inquire A.J. Greer.

The seasoned signed a two-year woody with Florida this past July 1 and posted a career-high 17 points successful the regular play connected his mode to being a cardinal portion of the Panthers' impactful 4th enactment during this postseason run. And the mode Maurice has made his portion with Nosek consciousness important is testament to that accomplishment Maurice has successful getting the astir from his group.

"Every subordinate that comes into this enactment elevates their crippled and gets to a definite constituent wherever you're like, 'Wow. Why wasn't helium similar this successful the different organizations?' It translates from the caput coach," Greer said. "He's a batch of antithetic coaches that I've had benignant of combined into one. He's benignant of conscionable a implicit bundle of being capable to motivate america and elevate our games mentally."

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0:36

A.J. Greer helps Panthers regain 2-goal lead

A.J. Greer scores aboriginal successful the 2nd play to assistance Florida regain a two-goal vantage implicit the Hurricanes.

It's go the modular successful Florida that entering the den comes with precocious expectations for soaring results. No 1 epitomizes that much than Maurice. There's a halfway content successful his strategy and however helium wants to tally the team, but idiosyncratic improvement has taught Maurice to beryllium little rigid successful his mundane attack to the game.

"I've spent a batch of years successful this league grinding and spitting nails each azygous day," Maurice said. "It's excessively hard to do. You person to beryllium capable to find places wherever you tin laughter a small spot and bask it. Once you cognize everyone's going to enactment their butt off, it's casual to do."

That translates into however Maurice puts the Panthers done their signifier paces during the playoffs. Florida didn't get connected the expanse astatine each aft winning Game 3 and held lone an optional signifier the greeting earlier Game 4. Maurice is unfastened to adjusting the Panthers docket arsenic they go, and successful tune with what players request to beryllium successful, a captious operation that allows Maurice to cognize erstwhile it's the close clip for a skate -- and conscionable however agelong to support it going.

"In my narration with these players, [I ask], erstwhile was the past clip we added a drill oregon a skate to practice? I haven't done it successful 3 years," helium said. "All I bash is arsenic soon arsenic I deliberation I get them to the threshold, I unopen signifier down. Then you get to person a bully time. If you judge that you've worked arsenic hard arsenic you can, past there's thing near to do."

THEY SAY WINNING tin alteration a man. Maurice, apparently, is not 1 of them. At slightest not to his team, who are inactive getting the aforesaid ol' chestnuts from their person adjacent aft hoisting hockey's beatified grail a play ago.

"He [brings] beauteous overmuch the aforesaid stuff. Nothing truly changed," Anton Lundell said. "I deliberation you guys know, too; he's got a batch of things to say, truthful it's not lone 1 oregon 2 things. He ever switches it up and rotates his quotes. But it's amusive to beryllium here, and arsenic a radical we similar him."

If determination has been a displacement successful Maurice astatine each it's been a affirmative for the Panthers. Florida's roadworthy to the Cup Final this twelvemonth was rockier than before, oscillating betwixt ascendant stretches and spans of adversity that drew questions astir their quality to contend for back-to-back championships.

Maurice kept the Panthers even-keeled done those highs and lows until Florida had afloat blossomed.

"He's the aforesaid guy, the aforesaid coach," defenseman Gustav Forsling said. "Maybe adjacent better, probably. He's truly good. He's inactive precise overmuch looking astatine each crippled and he's speechmaking into everything. And he's giving america the champion accidental to triumph each night."

That mightiness beryllium Maurice's top superpower -- an quality to instill confidence. Whether Florida is up oregon down successful a postseason bid -- arsenic they person been astatine times this outpouring -- the Panthers don't panic. They don't crumble. Stumble, maybe. But the information nett is there. It comes from Maurice and his philosophies that are well-received due to the fact that they work. Florida tin spot that if it follows his lead, bully things happen.

And the Panthers could beryllium days distant from proving that fact. Again.

"I don't deliberation he's changed since winning [the Cup]. He's the same," Bennett said. "He tin beryllium hard connected us. He's hard connected america erstwhile helium needs to be. And past he's relaxed with america erstwhile helium knows that we request [it], truthful I deliberation helium truly does person a bully consciousness for what our squad needs. We each person the astir respect for him."