Paul Maurice Is A Terrible Head Coach
The Florida Panthers are easily the most disappointing team in the NHL right now. A team that just won the President’s Trophy is on the verge of missing the playoffs in 2023. How the hell did it happen? Who was smart enough to predict this fall from grace (other than myself)? There should be a lot of finger-pointing going on in Florida but I urge you not to forget about head coach Paul Maurice. The Panthers hired a bum and it shows. Paul Maurice is a terrible head coach and it’s time someone said it.
Maurice, 55, carries a coaching record of 794-701-99-134. The 99 is when ties used to be a thing. That’s how long Maurice has been around. If you include the OT losses, Maurice has a below .500 record. The playoff win percentage sits at .446. It’s not like this Panthers team is getting there anyway.
Oh, and those 701 losses are the most in NHL history. Maurice sits in 6th place on the wins list. Mostly because he’s been around FOREVER. Andrew Brunette may not have been head coach material but he won the Jack Adams a year ago. Something Maurice has NEVER once accomplished.
The win / loss record only means so much. The guys who you have to work with on the ice matter. Here’s what I do know. The Winnipeg Jets are way better without him and the Florida Panthers are way worse with him. We can go back in history if we want to. This is the same guy the Hurricanes fired and then immediately won the Stanley Cup the next year in 2005-06.
Maurice led teams always seem to carry the same problem. They’re horrific defensively.
Connor Hellebuyck currently carries the best SV% of his career this year (.925). It’s also the first year he hasn’t had to deal with Maurice as his coach. Coincidence? Josh Morrisey has already shattered his career high point total. Morrisey has 47 points in 42 games. I’m quite sure Rick Bowness has nothing to do with that… Oh, and the Winnipeg Jets would make the playoffs if the season ended today. Something they didn’t get to even participate in last year.
While Morrisey is shining, Aaron Ekblad is basically having the worst year of his career. -18 rating in 32 games played with just 17 points. Coincidence?
Royce Dickson-Child of FL Teams wrote a really interesting column about how Maurice led teams struggle on the power play as well. The Panthers’ powerplay and penalty kill success are WAY down from the year prior. The column goes into great detail of all the struggles Maurice’s teams have had in special teams. It’s not great. I can keep going but I don’t think I need to. I’ve already went on about this enough.
Bill Zito is a total idiot for even hiring Paul Maurice. Zito has gotten a lot wrong during his time as head honcho of the Florida Panthers. The decision to put Maurice behind the bench should get both of them fired. Maurice is a bad coach. End of story. No room for discussion.
