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NHL Power Rankings: Who is the best head coach in the league?

By Dave Stevenson

Jun 26, 2015; Sunrise, FL, USA; A general view of the NHL shield logo before the first round of the 2015 NHL Draft at BB&T Center. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports
Jun 26, 2015; Sunrise, FL, USA; A general view of the NHL shield logo before the first round of the 2015 NHL Draft at BB&T Center. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports /
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Mandatory Credit: Sergei Belski-USA TODAY Sports
Mandatory Credit: Sergei Belski-USA TODAY Sports /

#25: Paul Maurice

Much like Tortorella, Winnipeg Jets head coach Paul Maurice and his methods are a bit outdated. He has a career point percentage of 50.7 percent which makes people wonder why he is still employed after 18 seasons as an NHL head coach. Maurice has had success recently, leading the Jets to the playoffs in 2014-2015, but that was largely due to some unsustainable performances. That has shown this season as the Jets are one of the worst teams in the league.

Perhaps Maurice’s biggest flaw is that he doesn’t handle young players too well. It took a long time for him to trust blue-liner Jacob Trouba. Even when he did start trusting him, it was because Maurice had no choice but to trust him. As of March 24th, there are only two players under the age of 23 who are getting over 15 minutes of ice time per game: Trouba and Mark Scheifele.

The worst of Maurice’s decisions as of late has likely been his obsession with Ondrej Pavelec. He is simply not a good goalie and his 2014-2015 season stands out as an obvious fluke. Despite that, Pavelec has still been getting starts over young net minders Michael Hutchinson and Connor Hellebuyck. The two young goalies are far more important to the future of the Jets than Pavelec. So why not give Hutchinson and Hellebuyck playing time and let them iron out their wrinkles as well as let the front office properly evaluate them?

Next: #24: Jeff Blashill

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