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Paul Maurice: Winningest Coach of the Panthers Is Actually A Big Deal

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Paul Maurice gets a soak after the Florida Panthers won the Stanley Cup by beating the Edmonton Oilers 2-1 in Game 7 on June 24. // Photo courtesy @FlaPanthers

SUNRISE — On Saturday night, Paul Maurice became the winningest coach in Florida Panthers history in a 3-1 win against the San Jose Sharks.

For those who have been paying a little attention to the Panthers the past couple of years, this probably does not come as much of a surprise.

Raise of hands — be honest here — who had the most regular-season wins in Panthers history before Maurice set it Saturday night?

Was it Doug MacLean?

Good answer, but no.

Terry Murray?

Educated guess. And no.

How about Gerard Gallant?

Not him, either.

Got to be Joel Quenneville, then.

Maybe Pete DeBoer?

The Florida Panthers have had some pretty good coaches over the years — including Hall of Famer Roger Neilson, also the wrong answer — yet, today, Paul Maurice stands alone after surpassing one Jacques Martin.

Thing is, Maurice did not appear to know that little factoid.

He also seemed unfazed by the news.

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“What’s the number?” Maurice asked when given information he may have been previously informed of, but obviously was not blown away by.

“I would not say that is a big milestone at 111. Like, that’s not even three 40-win seasons. You don’t even make the playoffs on 40 wins. I’ll take the first part of that, I do appreciate that. I am pleased the team has played well for  2 1/2 years. It’s just not a very big number. I won’t be bragging.

“There will be no tattoo. There will be no ‘111’ tattooed anywhere.’’

The total of wins Maurice has amassed over the past two-plus seasons with the Panthers — not including the playoffs, which puts him in a class all his own and likely includes a banner with his name on it one day — is not a big number.

Martin was hired before the lockout in 2004 after being the most successful coach in the history of the Ottawa Senators.

He coached the Panthers for three seasons, two of which he also served in a dual role as the team’s general manager after Mike Keenan was fired for the Roberto Luongo trade.

Martin was relieved of his coaching job in 2008 but stayed on as GM.

Martin hired DeBoer, who remains tied with his predecessor for most regular-season games coached with the Panthers at 246.

Both Martin and DeBoer coached the Panthers for three seasons.

No one else has made it that long.

DeBoer and Maurice are the closest of friends.

The Florida job turned out to be a stepping-stone for DeBoer.

It may just be the best gig Maurice has ever had.

After signing a five-year extension with the Panthers earlier this season, he ain’t going anywhere.

Which is unlike his predecessors, many of whom could not wait to escape.

Things are, well, a little different now.

“It has been a lot of fun,’’ said Maurice, who now leads three different franchises — Carolina/Hartford, Winnipeg, and the Panthers — in victories.

“The intensity, the ups and downs, and the success is what has made it. These guys are fun to coach. We have been in some wild games, some incredibly difficult situations, and found a way – then we reached the summit together. I’ve enjoyed it.”

Not too long ago, Jonathan Huberdeau would set franchise records on what seemed to be a weekly basis.

Like Maurice, he did not seem overly impressed when he eclipsed records such as goals, assists, power-play points, whatever.

Huberdeau would joke that the records he was setting were not particularly Hall of Fame worthy.

Nice to have? Sure.

But the Panthers’ short and transient history led to players such as Huberdeau being able to break records just by sticking around a few years.

Sasha Barkov, for instance, leads the Panthers with 738 points in his career. That would be ranked 11th if he played for the Bruins.

That does not mean what Barkov — and Huberdeau, or Olli Jokinen before him — has done with the Panthers should be schlepped off.

The Panthers are 70 or so years younger than the Original Six teams.

They have also gone through coaches like the Marlins go through managers.

For Barkov, who was picked second overall in 2013, Maurice is his eighth head coach.

Eighth.

“He has been the longest-tenured coach in my time here,” Barkov told FHN on Saturday. “We love playing for him. He is an unbelievable coach, and an unbelievable person. We have to keep going, keep winning.”

Neilson, for instance, was fired after two years despite leading the team through its expansion growing pains.

MacLean took that expansion team to the Stanley Cup Final in his first year, but did not make it through a third season.

Gallant coached the Panthers to its biggest point improvement in their history in his first season, led them to a division title in his second and, well, everyone remembers that infamous Raleigh cab ride early in his third season.

Winning 111 games in two-plus seasons is not something coaches of Maurice’s caliber hang their hat on.

Yet Maurice’s playoff record with the Panthers is pretty good.

Maurice won the Stanley Cup with the Panthers — and no other coach has come close to the 29 playoff games he won in Florida, either.

MacLean won 17.

That is what matters.

“It happened quick for him, and that’s always a good sign,’’ Matthew Tkachuk said. “He means a lot. He always gets us prepared, in the right mindset and headspace. He is great at getting the best out of each and every player which is super-hard to do as a coach. He seems to have mastered that. We love playing for him. Hopefully we can make that record bigger, make it that much harder to break.”

Martin, who still holds the Ottawa record for most wins in that franchise’s history, held that 110-game mark in Florida for 14 years.

The hiring of Maurice helped turn Florida’s fortunes around.

Perhaps not immediately, from a wins-and-loss standpoint, but he helped changed things here.

Not that the others who preceded him did not try nor could do much about it.

There is stability with the Panthers now — from owner Vinnie Viola, to GM Bill Zito and his front office, to the coaching staff.

The players appreciate the lack of change. It brings legitimacy as well.

“It is nice knowing what is happening, what to expect,’’ said Tkachuk, who unlike Barkov, has only known Maurice as coach of the Panthers.

ON DECK: GAME 29
FLORIDA PANTHERS AT SEATTLE KRAKEN

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