Quips, communication and culture: What makes Paul Maurice so singular as a coach
The Florida Panthers announced Tuesday they had signed head coach Paul Maurice to a multiyear contract extension. It came as no surprise considering Maurice helped guide them to their first, and his first, Stanley Cup championship this past June.
Maurice did so with seemingly everyone in the hockey world (aside from Edmonton, naturally) rooting for him. So, what is it that makes Maurice so special and beloved?
The 57-year-old has completely shifted the identity of this hockey club, and it appears all his players are incredibly happy for him.
“The first year wasn’t pleasant at the start, but then we finally got it and made it to two Cup Finals — we won one, and he changed our organization,” said veteran forward Carter Verhaeghe.
Communication and trust are some keywords that come to mind when an NHL organization wants to change its culture. Everyone understands that this year’s team is not quite the same as last year, but thanks to Maurice and players like Verhaeghe, the foundation has already been built for sustained success.
“Paul stays pretty consistent with what he does. We won last year for a reason, so we’re just trying to stick with it and bring the new guys along any way we can,” Verhaeghe said.
One of those new guys is Mackie Samoskevich, a 2021 first-round pick who has made the team out of training camp.
“I was thinking about it the other day — he’s been coaching in the NHL for longer than I’ve been alive,” Samoskevich said with a chuckle. “Every time he speaks, I definitely listen a little closer than in years past. I’m truly thankful to be in this locker room with him, you could learn so much just because he’s seen everything.”
Samoskevich has only played 16 games for the Panthers, but he already has a sense of the way Maurice prefers to communicate, which is typically with humor.
“It’s so much fun being around him, the communication is so good and he throws a couple of jokes in there which is always funny,” Samoskevich said.
Verhaeghe, who is a little more adjusted to Maurice’s antics, reiterated how high his head coach’s energy is.
“He’s a character, that’s for sure,” Verhaeghe said. “He’s hilarious; he always has one-liners and stuff like that. He’s quick and always knows what we need at the given moment.”
It’s not always fun and games with Maurice. When it’s time to teach — especially the young guys like Samoskevich, he is there to provide the lesson that is needed.
“He’s preached to me the importance of being physical,” Samoskevich said. “In this league, it’s something you can’t shy away from. At other levels, you can kind of get away with it, but not in this league. You have to be physical every night.”
Maurice has built a strong foundation down in South Florida, but he’s aware everything is different year to year — and as he does, he has a very unique way of explaining it.
This time of year you always hear players and coaches say “we’re building something”.
The @FlaPanthers feel like they’ve fully built over the past two years, so I asked Paul Maurice how they’re building this season.
He took me pretty literally 🤣@DailyFaceoff pic.twitter.com/nsjVa8y2FA
“It has to be rebuilt every year, not torn down,” Maurice said. “There’s a foundation you’d like to think is not so much set, it’s put in place. We would say maybe the blueprint’s there, but you get new lumber every year, so you’ve got to build that thing from the start over again. We know where the walls are going, we know where the kitchen is gonna be, we’ve done that for a couple years. But we’ve got to build it from the ground, we’ve got to put the cement in during training camp and then build it over the course of the year.
“The new guys will come in and just be a part of that process, so we will learn this all. Even though maybe you’ve gone through the lesson before, we’ll learn it for the first time together every year. We’ve got some adversity. The analytics aren’t pretty on our game. We’ve got lots of work to do with our game. But we’ll do it all together.”
Delivered in a way only Maurice could. As long as he is behind the Panthers bench, this group will be very difficult to play against, no matter how much the foundation changes year over year.
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