George Richards, FHN Publisher
FORT LAUDERDALE — After rumors surfaced earlier this month that top players for Finland wanted a change before the Olympics, Florida Panthers coach Paul Maurice said Saturday he is not interested in the job.
According to a story published by Ilta-Sanomat on Feb. 14, at least one player spoke with Finland GM Jere Lehtinen about replacing coach Antti Pennanen with Maurice.
Maurice, of course, has plenty of ties to Team Finland.
The Panthers would have had four players on the Olympic team had captain Sasha Barkov not sustained a season-ending knee injury on his first day of training camp in September.
Anton Lundell, Eetu Luostarinen, and Niko Mikkola all play for Bronze later this afternoon (2:40, USA Network) against Slovakia.
Tuomo Ruutu, an assistant on Maurice’s staff in Florida, is an assistant coach to Pennanen in Milan.
“I got a bunch of texts. Silliness,” Maurice said Saturday after the Panthers held their first practice since the Olympic break started.
“I think someone got [me] confused with Tuomo Ruutu. There’s a Panther coach on the bench, it’s just not [me].
“They have too many good coaches in Finland. They don’t need me. I was born in Canada, am a U.S. Citizen. I think I’ll just stay in Fort Lauderdale for these tournaments. It’s worked out just fine.”
Pennanen, who coached professionally in Finland before being named coach of the national team in 2023, was criticized when his team did not perform as well as expected at the 4 Nations Face-Off last year.
A lot of that had to do with injuries to the team’s blueline.
At this year’s Olympics, Finland lost its opener before rallying with two wins to win its group.
Finland held a 2-0 lead on Canada in Friday’s semifinal game after the first period but lost 3-2.
Ilta-Sanomat asked Lehtinen about discussion in Milan.
“There wasn’t much more to say about that,’’ Lehtinen said. “I don’t really have anything to say about it.’’
Lehtinen added he did not speak to Maurice about whether he had interest in the job or not.
2026 WINTER OLYMPICS
MEN’S HOCKEY SCHEDULE
- Today — Bronze medal game: Finland vs. Slovakia; 2:40 p.m. (USA, Peacock)
- Sunday — Gold medal game: United States vs. Canada; 8:10 a.m. (NBC, Peacock)
OLYMPIC RESULTS
- Day 1 — Group B: Slovakia 4, Finland 1; Sweden 5 Italy 2
- Day 2 — Group A: Switzerland 4, France 0; Canada 5, Czechia 0. Group C: United States 5, Latvia 1; Germany 3, Denmark 1
- Day 3 — Group B: Finland 4, Sweden 1; Slovakia 3, Italy 2. Group A: Czechia 6, France 3; Canada 5, Switzerland 1
- Day 4 (Saturday) — Group B: Sweden 5, Slovakia 3; Finland 11, Italy 0. Group C: Latvia 4, Germany 3; USA 6, Denmark 3
- Day 5 (Sunday) — Group A: Switzerland 4, Czechia 3 (OT); Canada 10, France 2. Group C: Denmark 4, Latvia 2; USA 5, Germany 1
- Tuesday’s Qualifiers: Germany 5, France 1; Switzerland 3, Italy 0; Czechia 3, Denmark 2; Sweden 5, Latvia 1.
- Wednesday’s Quarterfinals: Slovakia 6, Germany 2; Canada 4, Czechia 3 (OT); Finland 3, Switzerland 2 (OT); United States 2, Sweden 1 (OT)
- Friday’s Semifinals — Canada 3, Finland 2; United States 6, Slovakia 2
FLORIDA PANTHERS
2026 MILAN CORTINA OLYMPIC GAMES
- United States (5-0-0): F Matthew Tkachuk (5 GP, 0-6, 6 points); D Seth Jones (injured), Bill Zito (assistant GM), Teddy Richards (equipment manager)
- Canada (5-0-0): F Sam Reinhart (5 GP; 1-1, 2); F Brad Marchand (3 GP, 0-1, 1); C Sam Bennett (4 GP; 0-1, 1)
- Finland (3-2-0): C Sasha Barkov (injured), F Eetu Luostarinen (5 GP; 0-4, 4); D Niko Mikkola (5 GP, 0-3, 3); C Anton Lundell (4 GP; 1-1, 2); Tuomo Ruutu (assistant coach)
- Sweden* (3-1-1): D Gus Forsling (5 GP; 1-1, 2); Myles Fee (video coach)
- Germany* (2-3-0): Jamie Kompon (assistant coach)
- Latvia* (1-3-0): D Uvis Balinskis (4 GP; 0-1, 1); F Sandis Vilmanis(4 GP; 0-0, 0)
- (*) — Eliminated