George Richards, FHN Publisher
SUNRISE — Not long after being hired as the new coach of the Florida Panthers, Paul Maurice said things were going to change around the team and it may take some getting used to.
This Florida team certainly looks much different than the high-flying scoring machine it was last season.
And Maurice is cool with how things are going thus far.
The Panthers certainly look like a team working through some things — and they are using the regular season to do it.
Florida aims to be better prepared for the rigors of the playoffs. Maurice, to be sure, seems fine with sacrificing games in the regular season to become a stronger team come April when the postseason starts.
While this is a results-based business, the new coach of the Panthers says his team’s record is not a concern right now.
How they are playing is where his interest is.
Before fans start screaming that this team is not going to make the playoffs, there is still a lot of season left for this team to make the final eight in the East.
“I’m really happy with it,” Maurice said Monday. “Well, I was angry after the Edmonton game because we lost. You’re not necessarily happy with the record but the style of game and where we’re at.
”I am not worried about the results because we have a set of things we have to learn and what to become. When that happens for the Florida Panthers franchise does not matter. But it has to happen. The style of play could take a year or two to get to. It’s a hard style of play. Every game they learn it more. We have to scratch and claw. I am very comfortable.”
Through the opening month of the season, the Panthers are just barely above the .500 mark, going 8-6-1 through their first 15 games.
The Panthers have scored 47 goals — while giving up 46.
Through the first 15 games last season, Florida was 10-2-3 and was leading the NHL with 56 goals all while giving up 39.
But where did that get the 2021-22 Panthers?
Florida, despite its gaudy stats last season, struggled in the opening round of the playoffs against the Capitals and were swept by the Lightning after scoring a grand total of three goals in four losses.
The team underwent a slew of changes in the offseason with the veteran Maurice picked to replace Andrew Brunette behind the bench with salary cap constraints forcing the team to watch a number of key pieces — including Mason Marchment, Claude Giroux, Noel Acciari and Ben Chiarot — walk in free agency.
Florida also jumped at the chance to snare Matthew Tkachuk by making a blockbuster trade with the Calgary Flames. Florida sent leading scorer Jonathan Huberdeau and top-pair defenseman MacKenzie Weegar in the deal.
Based off all the changes and the new faces, this was bound to be a season of transition for the Panthers with Maurice saying early on this team would not match the record or the stats the last one put up.
But the Panthers should be a playoff team; they should end up as one of the eight teams left when the regular season ends.
By then, a lot of the wrinkles should be worked out.
And the playoffs are the only thing that matters.
“The idea of us needing to play a very tenacious playoff game is related to … style of game of what it went through and what it needs to moving forward,” Maurice said. “We have to grind, we have to learn how to get to that playoff grind. We’re going to learn all of those lessons now.
“The start of this year, in my mind, have been great. The 5-on-5 analytics have been fantastic. What we should be getting versus what we’re getting? It’s OK. We have to learn how to grind and win and that is being presented to us right now. And I’m happy with it. There are always things to complain about, but overall, we are ahead of where we thought we would be closing in on the 20-game mark. We keep building and I like our game.”