It didn't take long for everything to click.
Introduced as the new head coach of the Florida Panthers during a press conference at FLA Live Arena on a Thursday, Paul Maurice said he'd only been talking to general manager Bill Zito for about an hour during his initial interview before he was ready to grab his whistle and get to work.
"The interview process was wonderful," Maurice said. "I don't know how much time you spend with Bill, but he can jack you up about hockey in about 15 minutes, right? An hour into the meeting, I was ready to go. That's what drives me. That's what I love -- really smart, passionate people that want to put on not just a great game, but a great program for the community."
In that same meeting, Zito quickly realized that he was talking to his future bench boss.
"When we spoke to Paul Maurice, it was overwhelming that this was the man to be a real fit," said Zito, who also interviewed several other candidates. "He was the fit to take us into the challenges ahead of us moving forward, as we move forward to ultimately what our goal is."
It's the allure of that end goal that has been driving the franchise's decisions this offseason.
Despite capturing their first-ever Presidents' Trophy while setting franchise records for wins (58) and points (122) during an historic 2021-22 regular season, the Panthers were unceremoniously swept out of the playoffs in a tough second-round series against the cross-state rival Lightning.
And while Andrew Brunette, who was promoted from assistant to interim head coach just a few games into the season following Joel Quenneville's resignation, did an exceptional job keeping the team on track, Zito felt a coach with more experience was needed at the helm at this time.
Among active NHL coaches, none have more experience than Maurice.
Still only 55 years old despite coaching in the NHL for more than two decades, Maurice ranks fourth in NHL history in games coached (1,684) and seventh in wins (775). Additionally, he's also coached 92 games in the playoffs, including making a trip to the Stanley Cup Final in 2002.
"Kudos to Bruno for taking charge of the ship and leading this team and getting us through the year," Zito said. "As was the case when I got here with Joel, with the experience with the team and with this group, and looking forward to what we see on the horizon with the challenges that we're going to face with our [salary] cap, with re-signing some of our guys and trying to get this moving forward and achieving the next level, experience is paramount."
For Maurice, getting to that next level starts and ends with one thing -- work.
"Certainly, that is the aspiration and where we want to get to," said Maurice, who coached the Winnipeg Jets to four straight playoff appearances before stepping down 29 games into the 2021-22 season. "But we can't make a Cup run in October, or in training camp. So, what we have to do from Day 1, and a daily basis, is prepare in that work. And that has to be our focus."
Continue reading below for key excerpts from Maurice's introductory press conference.
On being the "right fit" for the Panthers:
"That's the sense that you're looking for as a head coach. Bill and I hadn't met prior, but there's certainly players and people within the organization that I know very well. Maybe in the first 15-20 minutes you feel it, you felt that fit here. It's been a great experience for me. … It's about building a destination franchise for the fans, not just the players that we can draw here, not just all the things that they can offer, but for the fans as well. That passion comes out very quickly. Once [these interviews] started for me, it was over. I was ready. I was all in. Of course, to be given this opportunity is humbling. They've got a lot of really strong pieces here. They've done tremendous work here to get to where they are. I'm honored and humbled to be a part of it."
On how the Panthers can take that next step:
"Amassing the talent comes first. It's a very difficult thing to do. It needs to be developed and gotten to a certain level. Then there's a next phase. It's not necessarily measured by regular-season points or goals for, it's that transition into all of the hard things, the investment. It's not just the players. The players here are good and they work hard. It's the investment of the entire group to drive yourself hard enough that when adversity comes you're ready for it. You've earned the right to survive in that adversity. I'm excited about that challenge. … I've watched the progression of this team year to year. You have to be excited. As a coach, you see that and you want to be part of that next level. They're in that group now. I think it's also possibly the most difficult step to take. It's hard to get to that point that you believe you've earned the right to survive your adversity and you fight through that. That's a daily investment from the coaches players and management -- all in, every single day."
On getting back into coaching after a brief hiatus:
"I have a phone call with Bill and that's where the process started. I get off the phone and I'm ready. I can't explain it to you any better than that. You walk into a room, you talk to a bunch of men, they tell you their plans. They've got them. They're working on things. They have a plan if this happens, a plan if this happens, and they're ready to work. You're going, 'I want to be a part of this' That switch got flipped real fast. It wasn't that I'm not coaching anymore, it was that I'm only going to a place where I think I can make a difference and be a part of something -- a community, a team, a franchise. I want that passion in my life, too. I want that juice. That's what fires you up and gets you to the rink on time. [Bill] excels at that."
On how the Panthers can adjust their approach to games:
"Additions in their game, not necessarily a change in their game. There's an awful lot of good here. They scored an awful lot of goals. You know, 122 points is now easy to do in this league. We would look at the 60-minute game maybe more closely than the 65-minute game or the shootout game in terms of where our team is at in terms of producing wins and the style of the game there. Additions, right? I love some of the offensive things they do. There will be no curtailing completely on that. Creative players have to have room to be creative. … The team works hard. This is not a lazy team. This team works and competes. The focus [is] five moving together distinctly and very, very quickly repeatedly -- things that we can replicate. You can't always hit that same pass through nine people over a stick. Now, they've done it because we've seen them do it and it's pretty darn cool when it happens, but that can't be your game plan in the playoffs. The playoff game changes completely. It's a different style. The rush disappears. The net front becomes where all the battles are. So we have to add that to our game, so that when we get to that we have experience with it."
To view Maurice's entire introductory press conference, click HERE.
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