![\"Florida](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/452_Stanley_Cup_Final_Game_6_DS.jpg\" "\\"Florida")
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Florida Panthers head coach Paul Maurice kisses the Stanley Cup after a 5-1 win over the Edmonton Oilers in Game 6 of the Final at Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise, Fla., on Tuesday, June 17, 2025, securing the NHL championship.<\/p>\n
Photo by David Santiago<\/p>\n
dsantiago@miamiherald.com<\/p>\n
Paul Maurice knew it was coming. During the first television timeout of the Florida Panthers\u2019 home game against the Seattle Kraken on Tuesday night, all eyes would be on him as the team recognized him for a major milestone.<\/p>\n
One slight problem: It took a little longer than usual for that timeout to come as the Panthers and Kraken played uninterrupted for nearly nine minutes midway through the frame, blowing through the normal time for the first two built-in breaks to the game. The stoppage whistle finally came with 4:04 left in the period.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was hoping we could run that thing right to the intermission,\u201d Maurice said with a chuckle after the game, a 5-4 shootout win.<\/p>\n
Maurice isn\u2019t one for the limelight. He doesn\u2019t want the moment to be about him, even on occasions when it should be solely about him.<\/p>\n
But that minute-long tribute, as much as it probably pained him to think about, was coming.<\/p>\n
And it was a well-deserved minute of honor.<\/p>\n
Tuesday was Maurice\u2019s 2,000th game as an NHL head coach. He\u2019s just the second person in league history to accomplish the feat<\/a>, along with the legendary Scotty Bowman.<\/p>\n The in-arena recognition was brief, flashing through a couple quick moments early in his career before showing him celebrating the two Stanley Cup championships he won the past two years with the Panthers. A slew of more personal tributes from all parts of his hockey life came in a more private setting, with the team putting the highlights (and ones with suitable language) in a 10-minute package on social media.<\/p>\n Maurice stared up at the video board at center ice while the video played, remaining stoic. The crowd gave him a round of applause. He lifted his right hand into the air and mouthed \u201cThank you\u201d back.<\/p>\n \u201cThis place has been great,\u201d Maurice said. \u201cThe fans have been great here. I really appreciate the acknowledgement.\u201d<\/p>\n Even if the reality is one Maurice still has trouble accepting as truth sometimes.<\/p>\n His professional hockey career was cut short before it could really begin due to an eye injury before he could make it to the NHL.<\/p>\n He got into coaching at the urging of Jim Rutherford, now the president of hockey operations with the Vancouver Cancuks. He became a head coach in 1995, at age 28 \u2014 the second youngest to do so in NHL history. His stops included the Hartford Whalers (1995-97) who then became the Carolina Hurricanes (1997-2004), Toronto Maple Leafs (2006-2008), a second stint in Carolina (2008-2012), the Winnipeg Jets (2013-2021) and now the Panthers (2022-present).<\/p>\n \u201cThis has been an incredible experience,\u201d Maurice said. \u201cI do have a pretty good spectrum of emotions in my career: Tensions, pressures, darkness, light, extreme sadness, incredible joy. I do get flashes of it when you allow yourself to. It has been an unusual day. I had not thought about it, was not in the mood to think about it, then I got shown a life reel. God, I was young. I was young and unprepared. I don\u2019t feel as young, but I\u2019d like to think I am far more prepared.\u201d<\/p>\n Maurice was ready to call it a career after he resigned from the Winnipeg job in December 2021. He thought he had accomplished all he would get done in his career even if he was missing some noted milestones.<\/p>\n And then came a phone call from Bill Zito while Maurice was fishing, an urging that he had something left to give to the sport.<\/p>\n Maurice agreed. He became the head coach of the Florida Panthers.<\/p>\n He found a new zeal for the sport he loves. The flame inside him rekindled.<\/p>\n The success came with it. He and Zito overhauled the Panthers and turned them into perennial contenders. Florida reached the Stanley Cup Final each of Maurice\u2019s first three years at the helm, winning it all the past two years.<\/p>\n Even with the struggles that have come this year \u2014 Florida has been ravaged by injuries and is all but assuredly going to miss the playoffs this season for the first time under Maurice \u2014 he has no plans of slowing down. He signed a contract extension after the first championship. He plans to honor that.<\/p>\n And with that, the record for most games played could eventually become his. Bowman coached 2,141 games. Maurice would hit that mark during the 2027-28 season if he goes that far.<\/p>\n \u201cLife happens to you,\u201d said Maurice, who also ranks third on the NHL\u2019s all-time wins list with 951. \u201cThe next thing you know, you have a couple thousand games in. You\u2019ve got a group of guys that you love coming to work with, so you\u2019re not ready [to stop]. I don\u2019t feel like 2,000 is the end of it for me. It wasn\u2019t hang out [in the NHL] until a number. We\u2019re in a tough spot here. We all understand that. But we like our group. We like what we\u2019ve built. I love coming to the rink and I love working here. I love living in Florida, and I love these guys.\u201d<\/p>\n And they love him. They appreciate how he has impacted their careers in a multitude of ways. But don\u2019t take our word for it.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s what they had to say about Maurice:<\/p>\n Defenseman Aaron Ekblad: \u201cA mentor. A coach. He\u2019s a family man. He\u2019s awesome. He\u2019s great to the players. He\u2019s great to us. And his mind for hockey is second to none. So happy for him on 2,000 games. It\u2019s just incredible. Here\u2019s to many more as a player under him.\u201d<\/p>\n Froward Evan Rodrigues: \u201cHe always knows what to say and knows what we need when we need it. There are games where we know it\u2019s a big game, and he keeps it short and sweet and keeps it tight and we know what we have to do. And then there are games where the whole room kind of feels down and maybe a little out of it or tired and he comes in with one that makes you want to run through a wall. So he\u2019s really good \u2014 not only speeches-wise, but even in meetings and stuff \u2014 at knowing what we need. He knows when we need a kick in the ass or when to just let us ride it out and figure it out ourselves. I\u2019m sure that comes with experience, but he\u2019s elite at reading a room.\u201d<\/p>\n Defenseman Niko Mikkola: \u201cHe probably knows the game more than anybody else. He sees everything, has great thoughts. He knows the right way to play and all the details. He\u2019s got that under control. And obviously, I feel like it\u2019s been the motivation factor with how he speaks and how he gets the boys going every day. How he makes us feel on the ice and off the ice, like the environment and what we have here, it\u2019s fun. Everybody can be themselves.\u201d<\/p>\n Forward A.J. Greer: \u201cThere\u2019s a lot of respect for him around the league and around the locker room definitely. Everyone believes in what he teaches, what he coaches. The biggest thing is his pedigree. It works. People understand what he\u2019s saying. He doesn\u2019t put you in positions to not have success. He\u2019ll always try and do the best for everyone individually. He invites mistakes. And there\u2019s not a patriarchal kind of energy to it. We\u2019re in it as a group, and he motivates the hell out of you. Every night, whether it\u2019s a Tuesday night, a Saturday night, away, home, his speeches and what he preaches, everyone buys in. So everyone loves playing for him. I love playing for him. And I think just the fact that he\u2019s not hypersensitive to mistakes. He wants you to succeed. He wants everyone to have the best times possible.\u201d<\/p>\n Forward Anton Lundell: \u201cHis passion for coaching, his passion for the team winning. He shows his respect to the players every day. He\u2019s intense, a hard-working coach that. Every player respects him. He has that aura when he walks in the room the guys feel right away. He has a personality that everybody respects. It can be intense, but he just wants to win so bad, but the way he just drives himself and drive this team, it\u2019s been very fun.\u201d<\/p>\n Forward Eetu Luostarinen: \u201cOne of the biggest things was his trust in me, trust in my game and putting me in tough situations. That way I could get that experience, get the ice time and earn his trust. That was probably the biggest thing.\u201d<\/p>\n Florida Panthers Head Coach Paul Maurice talks to the team during the third period of a game against the Buffalo Sabres on Monday, Feb. 2, 2026, at Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise, Fla. The Buffalo Sabres beat the Florida Panthers 5-3. Alie Skowronski askowronski@miamiherald.com <\/p>\n