PANTHERS CHOOSE SEASONED LEADER
Paul Maurice will be the next coach of the Panthers, replacing interim coach Andrew Brunette. The former Jets coach has the sixth most wins in NHL history.
The Panthers are moving on from Andrew Brunette and bringing in a more established, experienced coach to lead their chase for a Stanley Cup.
Paul Maurice, whose 775 wins are the seventh most in NHL history, is the Panthers’ new coach after agreeing to a multi-year deal with the franchise Wednesday.
“At the completion of our season, we began an in-depth examination of all aspects of our team. After taking the appropriate amount of time for analysis, we determined that we needed the perfect fit to continue with the growth of our players and stay on the path for our franchise goals,” general manager Bill Zito said in a statement. “Paul’s experience and intellect were just what we were looking for and we are thrilled for him to step into the role of head coach.”
Florida will formally introduce Maurice on Thursday with a news conference at FLA Live Arena.
Most recently, Maurice was coach of the Winnipeg Jets before he abruptly resigned after just 29 games this season. He also previously coached the Toronto Maple Leafs and had two stints as the coach of Carolina Hurricanes, leading them to 2002 Stanley Cup Final in their fifth season after moving from Hartford, Connecticut.
His coaching career began at just 28 when he became the coach of the Hartford Whalers in 1995, staying with the organization when they moved to North Carolina in 1997.
Maurice, 55, has coached the fourth most games in NHL history and posted a .528 points percentage in those 1,684 games. His teams made the playoffs nine times in his 24 seasons, including in four of his
last five years with the Jets.
In hiring Maurice, Florida is opting for a proven commodity — something similar to when it hired former coach Joel Quenneville in 2019, albeit without the same track record of postseason success — rather than Brunette, who abruptly took over as the interim coach earlier this past season when Quenneville resigned after seven games following revelations about his involvement in
the Chicago Blackhawks’ mishandling of a 2010 sexual-assault allegation.
Brunette, 48, guided the Panthers through turmoil to their first Presidents’ Trophy and their first trip to the second round of the playoffs since 1996, but they flamed out in Round 2 in a four-game sweep by the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Brunette was a finalist for the Jack Adams Award, mostly for his handling of the unexpected transition and the steady hand he had in guiding one of the NHL’s most stacked rosters to a historic regular season. The concern arose in the playoffs when the Panthers couldn’t keep up the high-scoring pace they set in the regular season and particularly struggled on the power play, which was Brunette’s primary area of focus when he was an assistant coach.
It was a stark difference from Quenneville, who typically elevated his teams’ level of play in the postseason and won three Cups with the Blackhawks.
Ultimately, Zito let Brunette coach with the interim tag all year because it gave him flexibility to make a change in the offseason if he felt it was necessary. With the way the 2021-22 season ended for Florida, Zito opted to move on after leaving Brunette in limbo for more than a month into the offseason.
Brunette reportedly has been asked to remain within the organization and could join Maurice’s new staff. He previously worked in the Minnesota
Wild’s front office until Quenneville, who coached Brunette as a player, hired him as one of his assistants in 2019.
Last month, Brunette said he “of course” wanted to return as coach for the 2022-23 season, although he said he would also have to discuss the situation with his family because of how unexpectedly he was thrust into the interim job.
“I love this team, but I understand the business and it is what it is,” Brunette said. “What I did is on the table and it’s what they want to do going forward, and I understand either side of the equation, but it was a fun ride and I enjoyed every moment of it.”