It’s incredibly difficult to become an NHL head coach, and as many have realized, it’s even harder to remain one.
Florida Panthers Head Coach Paul Maurice knows this well.
Maurice has been an NHL bench boss since November of 1995, when the then-28-year-old was promoted to head coach of the Hartford Whalers when they fired Paul Holmgren.
In the time since, he has almost exclusively coached in the NHL, from Hartford and the Carolina Hurricanes (1995-2003) to the Toronto Maples Leafs (2006-2008), back to Carolina (2008-2011) and then the Winnipeg Jets (2014-2021), with brief one-season stops with the AHL’s Toronto Marlies (2005-06) and KHL’s Metallurg Magnitogorsk (2012-13).
To say he’s coached through bevy of different styles and phases of the game would be a gross understatement.
Even in just the NHL, Maurice has seen the game evolve from the clutch-and-grab times when he first began coaching to the attempts to clean it up and increase scoring to the integration of technology and now with a wider and more profound emphasis on player safety, recovery and longevity.
Considering he has found success everywhere he’s gone, and on so many differently comprised teams playing in different eras of the game, it’s very fitting that Maurice has been getting his flowers lately.
Sure, it probably wouldn’t be happening like this if not for the Stanley Cup success he’s had in recent years, but that’s all part of the journey.
As it currently stands, Maurice has coached 1,884 NHL games. Only the legendary Scotty Bowman has coached more: 2,141.
If Maurice, who just signed a new contract extension with the Panthers in October, remains behind the bench for another three-plus seasons, he’ll overtake Bowman for most games coached of all time.
Maurice is only 57 years old (he turns 58 in January).
So how far can he go?
2,500 games coached? How about 3,000?!
Taking into account the skills he possesses as both a hockey intellectual and a leader and motivator of men, it may be up to Maurice as to how much longer he coaches in the NHL.
Remember, he resigned from his head coaching job in Winnipeg and wasn’t sure what the future would hold.
The opportunity to lead the Panthers was such a unique, surprising prospect, it compelled him to jump right back into coaching much sooner than many, including Maurice himself, thought would happen.
Currently, things are about as good as they can be.
Always known as a great personality who was outgoing with the media, Maurice has taken that persona to the next level since joining the Panthers.
His comfort level in South Florida has been as apparent as the success he’s found there.
Maurice is beloved by his players and coaching staff. He has the full confidence of the front office.
The Panthers roster is built to succeed for the foreseeable future, with elite key players locked up to long-term deals.
Nobody has a crystal ball that will tell us what the future holds for Maurice, but there is a path that could lead him to NHL coaching immortality.
For now, though, Maurice seems quite content taking things as they come and enjoying the ride.
Can you blame him? He’s certainly earned his place.
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