Kristen Shiltonjun13, 2025, 07:00 at
Closekristen Shilton is ESPN’s national NHL reporter.
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Thomas Nosek was experiencing the worst nightmare of all hockey players.
It was overtime in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup final, and the Florida Panthers veteran four-line forward was sitting in the box due to a delay in the game’s penalty after flipping the puck over the glass for the rest of the time of 1:42. Edmonton’s Leon Draysightle scored the game’s winner on the continuing power play, so he could see helplessly from there.
It was a devastating moment for Nosek. The response from coach Paul Maurice was to ensure that the overwhelming sensation didn’t last long.
“You remind him after the match that he went down 2-0 to Toronto. [in the second round] At that time [fourth] The line came in and changed everything for us,” Maurice said in post-match media availability. [in the Final] No Thomas. It’s a tough break. So we just make sure he doesn’t eat alone tonight. He has many people sitting at his table, reminding us how good he is to us. ”
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Nosek never saw such empathy come. The 32-year-old skated towards five NHL clubs in his career, calling for an exchange with Maurice following his gaffe special in comparison to other dressing rooms.
“He’s an incredible person. He said things he didn’t need to say, but he said that,” Nose said. “And that’s what makes him, for me, a really, really, really good coach and a really good guy.”
Like Nose, Maurice has traveled the league. It is located at his sixth stop behind the Panthers bench, where he created his best work. He has not only led Florida to the third consecutive Cup final. There, the Panthers are competing for a second consecutive title after claiming the first one of the organization 12 months ago. Maurice is at the heart of his team’s cultural movement.
Before Maurice arrived in 2022, the Panthers were a good team at the pinnacle of greatness. Three years later, Florida is peering into the territory of the dynasty.
Of course, it’s not that Maurice is doing it. But whether he has earned credit or not, Maurice was the linchpin to make the Panthers shine, both as a group and as an individual.
“Each person has a lot of respect for him,” Forward Sam Bennett said. “Everyone hears when he speaks, and I think the team really just bought it to the culture he implemented on this team. We’re all happy to be happy that it’s necessary, and that hard style he keeps preaching to us in the middle of the night, and we all just bought it for years.”
It was just before Christmas 2021 that Maurice believed his time was over.
He was the head coach of the Winnipeg Jets for nine seasons and could see that the team needed someone else to go beyond the 4-7-2 stretch and start calling for shots.
“If you allow me to be arrogant, I feel better than anyone else that they need a new voice,” Maurice said as he announced his resignation. “They need someone who can take them to the next place.”
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Ironically, the same will soon be the case with the Panthers. Little did Maurice know when he was the right man for the job. When Maurice was bowing in Winnipeg, he cited the loss of his passion for the game itself, saying, “You can’t do as good as you can.”
The Panthers were bathed in their present while Maurice was thinking about his future. Florida tore the NHL with a 122-point show between 2021-22, winning the franchise’s first presidential trophy as the league’s top regular season team. But the admiration didn’t work for them in the postseason. There, Florida was flapping up with a second round sweep of the Tampa Bay Lightning.
So it was Florida that needed a new voice. After the season, GM Bill Jeet parted ways with interim head coach Andrew Brunette, who took over when Joel Quenneville resigned in October after allegations of sexual assault that Kyle Beach reported against the Chicago Blackhawks during Quenenville’s tenure.
Despite how much the brunette took Florida, Jeet wanted to plead for someone else for the lasting role – and Maurice wanted to give his past love a last chance.
It was a match made in heaven.
Maurice was barely folded when Jeet rocked the hockey world in July 2022 with a smash hit trade and rocked the hockey world, shipping Panthers top scorer Jonathan Hooverd and defender Mackenzie Weager to the Calgary Flames to forward Matthew Tokachuk.
Haymaker warned Maurice’s news, but both acquisitions were essential to redefine the Panthers’ brand. Tkachuk exemplified the type of physically focused structure that Maurice preached. In almost one dive, Florida found a harmony between superstars and coaches. Easy enough to get everyone else on board, along with Maurice’s tricks who knew how to read his room.
“He’s open and honest and speaks his heart,” Forward Rodriguez said. “I don’t think he’s holding back. [He’s] Very smart. They know what to say and when to say it and do a great job of motivating us. ”
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Talking may be one of Maurice’s greatest strengths – unless it’s about himself. Maurice won his 1,000th career victory when Florida made his special comments as he broke Edmonton 6-1 in Game 3 of the Cup Final on Monday. However, Maurice was moved to hear Bennett’s comments about the Panthers’ respect for his coach, calling it “so kind” to talk about his top skaters about how his top skaters lead the Panthers.
“If they just walk into the room and tell the truth, they can look back and say whether they want to hear it, whether it is true, and over time they say it is true.
Carter Verhaege can’t hold back his smile when asked about Maurice and the habit of becoming a unique personality in today’s game.
“He’s one of them,” Werhege said. “We see his sense of humor [the media] And he has the same sense of humor as us. He keeps everything light, but you want to work. And for each other, for the right reasons. At any time, he knows what the group needs…it loosens us and focuses us at the same time. ”
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Fortunately, for Maurice, it wasn’t his comedy timing that solidified the Panthers’ status as a player’s destination. Previously, we thought Florida’s lack of state income tax would drive NHL free agents to the door, but the Panthers sweater pull is beyond the chance of saving cash. Florida is 141-87-18 and Maurice is 141-87-18, a perennial playoff powerhouse, wielding some sort of elixir that brought the best year ever when injected with countless newcomers.
Ask AJ Greer.
The veteran signed a two-year contract with Florida this July 1, scoring a career-high 17 points in the regular season to become a key part of the Panthers’ impactful fourth line during this postseason run. And the way Maurice made his unit feel important to him with Nosek is a testament to the skills Maurice makes the most of his group.
“Every player coming into this organization will raise the game and you will reach a certain point like, “Wow, why didn’t he like this in other organizations.” “It translates from the head coach,” Greer said. “He’s a lot of different coaches I kind of combined into one. He’s kind of a complete package of motivating us and being able to mentally boost our game.”
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In Florida, the standard was that when you enter a burrow, a surge in results accompanied by high expectations. No one symbolizes it more than Maurice. There are core beliefs in his system and how he wants to run his team, but personal evolution teaches Maurice that he is not so strict with his everyday approach to the game.
“I’ve smashed my nails every day for years in this league and spitting them out,” Maurice said. “It’s too hard to do. You have to be able to find a place where you can laugh a little and have fun. If everyone is trying to stop the butt, it’s easy.”
This leads to how Maurice places the Panthers at the pace of practice during the playoffs. Florida was not in the seat at all after winning Game 3. I practiced optional items the morning before Game 4. Maurice is able to adjust the Panthers schedule.
“In relation to these players, [I ask]when was the last time you added a drill or skate to practice? I’ve never done it in three years,” he said. Then you can have a good time. If you believe you worked as hard as you could, there’s nothing to do. ”
They say winning can change a man. Obviously, Maurice is not one of them. At least not with his team. He still gets the same ol’ chestnut from his leader, even after raising the hockey grail before the season.
“he [brings] It’s almost the same thing. Anton Landell said. “I think you all know. He has a lot to say, so it’s not just one or two. He always switches it and spins the quotes. But it’s fun to be here, and as a group we like him.”
If Maurice had changed, it was positive for the Panthers. Florida’s path to this year’s Cup Finals is more rocky than before, vibrating between dominant stretches and spans of adversity, drawing questions about his ability to compete for a back-to-back championship.
Maurice evenly avoided the Panthers through their highs and lows until Florida was fully blossoming.
“He’s the same guy, the same coach,” said defensive man Gustav Foring. “Maybe it’s better. He’s really good. He still looks at every game, he reads everything. And he gives us the best chance to win every night.”
It may be Maurice’s biggest superpower – the ability to instill confidence. Whether Florida is happening or down in the postseason series – as they sometimes did this spring – the Panthers don’t panic. They won’t collapse. I probably tripped. But there is a safety net. It comes from Maurice and his philosophy. Florida can trust that good things will happen if it follows his lead.
And the Panthers could be a few days away from proving that fact. Also.
“I don’t think he’s changed since he won [the Cup]. He’s the same,” Bennett said. He struggles with us when he needs him. And when he knows we need him, he relaxes with us [it]So I think he really feels good about what our team needs. We all respect him the most. ”
