'I cheer for the Winnipeg Jets': Paul Maurice delivers emotional shoutout to Winnipeg Jets fans during Stanley Cup final
Photo by Brian Babineau/NHLI via Getty Images
The Florida Panthers may be deep in the Stanley Cup Final, but head coach Paul Maurice hasn't forgotten where he came from. Ahead of Game 2, Maurice carved out a moment to speak from the heart—about the Winnipeg Jets, the team he once led, and still quietly roots for.
His message wasn't a scripted soundbite or some half-hearted nod. It was personal. Honest. And it reminded fans that no matter where he coaches, a piece of his hockey soul still lives in Winnipeg.
Florida Panthers coach Paul Maurice praises Winnipeg Jets' culture and leadership, calling them a team built for a Stanley Cup run
Asked what the Jets needed to finally get over the hump,
Paul Maurice
didn't hesitate. 'Yeah, getting rid of your last coach was the right thing to do, winning the Presidents' Trophy,' he said with a laugh.
He followed it up with something more telling.
'I cheer for three teams, basically,' Maurice said. 'I cheer for the Vancouver Canucks because of Jim Rutherford. I cheer for the Winnipeg Jets, because, well, because of Winnipeg. And I was cheering for the Dallas Stars for Pete DeBoer.'
It's not lip service. Maurice has deep ties to the Jets organization—and even deeper ties to the people who make it what it is.
'If you're good at it, you put everything into this and you're not cheering for the other team, you're cheering for your own team,' he explained.
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'But if you're going to lose, I'd want to lose to one of those three groups.'
He pointed to Mark Scheifele's gutsy effort to play through pain as a reflection of Winnipeg's culture. 'That's not just a one-off,' Maurice said. 'That starts at the top of that organization. And it fits very well with the fanbase there.'
Maurice isn't coaching the Jets anymore, but it's clear they never left his heart. 'They're just the right story in Winnipeg for the National Hockey League and what's right about the game,' he said. 'They won the Presidents' Trophy. I think the Florida Panthers did that a couple years before they got to the Final, so I think they're right there.' It wasn't just a compliment. It was a quiet promise that Winnipeg's moment is coming.
Also Read:
Florida Panthers Captain Aleksander Barkov sets NHL record by winning Selke, King Clancy in the same year
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