Could this year be the year that Paul Maurice finally wins a Cup?

I have been rooting for Paul Maurice since 1995 (I am definitely not the only one) when he was hired to be an assistant coach with the Hartford Whalers. The team Maurice was with prior, the Detroit Junior Red Wings of the OHL (where he won a championship in the 1994-95 season as a head coach), was owned by American businessman Peter Karmanos. Karmanos then purchased the Hartford Whalers franchise with his business partners and subsequently hired Maurice.

After the Whalers started the 1995-96 campaign with a less-than-stellar 5-6-1 record, the then-head coach Paul Holmgren was fired and replaced by 28-year-old NHL newcomer assistant coach, Paul Maurice. Season ticket sales lagged and after threatening a move if more sales didn't come in, Karmanos followed through and indeed moved the team to Raleigh, North Carolina after the 1996-97 season, cementing the Carolina Hurricanes as a team in the NHL.

As a Hartford, CT native, I will always and forever have a place in my heart for Maurice. I will also always and forever have a disdain for the Hurricanes; this is a common CT mindset to have.

Maurice made it to his first Stanley Cup Finals in 2002 with the Hurricanes, eventually, the team losing to the Detroit Red Wings in five games. His journey as a head coach took him from the Canes to Toronto (Marlies then Maple Leafs) and then back to Carolina before taking a one-year NHL hiatus in 2012-13 to coach the Magnitogorsk Metallurg of the KHL. Upon returning to the NHL he coached the Winnipeg Jets until 2021, when he personally stepped down as the coach, notably saying he gave the team all he could give. The Florida Panthers signed Maurice in June of 2022, which is where he is today.

During his tenure as head coach, he has seen his fair share of early-round exits mixed with seasons where his squad didn't qualify for the playoffs. He made it back to the Stanley Cup Finals for a second time in his career in 2023 when his Panthers fought their way into the final round of the post-season, where they eventually lost to the Vegas Golden Knights. Things this year seem to be clicking though; they have a healthy squad with lethal special teams, offensive powerhouses galore, a brick wall between the pipes in netminder Sergei Bobrovsky, and a passionate and elegantly-spoken bench boss in Maurice.

Maurice is known for his press conference acumen and incredible personality during interviews with the media. He looks beyond the game of ice hockey which allows fans, media, and players to see him as real and raw. He gives phenomenal insight into his game and mind as a coach. When things don't go his way, he carries himself with class and oftentimes a side brutal honestly. Maurice is not afraid to crack a smile or joke. He has a way of motivating his team, especially recently, as they're back-to-back Stanley Cup Finals participants.

Paul Maurice by the numbers:

• 28: The age Maurice became a head coach in the NHL.
• 2: At age 28, Maurice became the second youngest head coach in the NHL, behind Gary Green who became the head coach of the Washington Capitals at age 26.
• 43: The age Maurice was when he coached his 1,000th NHL game. He was the youngest in NHL history to achieve this incredible coaching feat. He was also the youngest head coach to reach 1,500 games.
• 57: His current age (still so young)!
• 1,848: The number of regular season games coached in the NHL.
• 869: The number of wins he has in those 1,848 games. He ranks fourth on the all-time wins list; behind Scotty Bowman, Joel Quenneville, and Barry Trotz.
• 0: The number of Stanley Cup wins. Maurice holds the honor of most wins without winning a Cup, as the three coaches above him on the wins list have all at least won one (Bowman has won nine!).
• 2: The number of wins he and the Panthers need in this series to secure the championship. This would also be the Panthers' first Cup as a franchise, 31 years in the making (est. 1993). Game three is June 13 at 8 p.m. ET.

The right time is now for Maurice to win, and I cannot wait to see him hoist the Cup.