Panthers Coach Paul Maurice Building Strong Coaching Legacy, Despite No Jack Adams Recognition
In a business with job turnover that has only increased in recent years, Maurice's NHL longevity is something to behold. The 58-year-old's first year as an NHL coach came in 1995-96, and since then, Maurice has coached an astonishing 27 seasons. He has coached 1,931 regular-season games in his stints with the Hartford Whalers, Carolina Hurricanes, Toronto Maple Leafs, Winnipeg Jets and the Panthers – and only coaching icon Scotty Bowman has coached more games (2,141). That means, barring some unexpected move or retirement, Maurice is going to break Bowman's record in the next three seasons. And yet, he's still looking for his first Jack Adams Award.
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To this writer, that's more than a little ridiculous. It's true the Jack Adams isn't a lifetime achievement award, but Maurice has guided his teams to 12 playoff appearances, and he steered them to a first-or-second-place finish in their division on five different occasions. This is the hallmark of a coach who isn't some flash-in-the-pan. This is the sign of an expert coach who can change organizations multiple times and get solid results.
And after last year, Maurice finally has his Stanley Cup, guaranteeing him a spot in the Hockey Hall of Fame when he does choose to retire. Another Cup win by the Panthers this year would only underscore Maurice's legacy, but even if Florida does lose to the Edmonton Oilers in the next couple weeks, Maurice's performance can't be torn down by anyone. In an era where consecutive Cup-winners are few and far-between, he's delivered as much glory as anyone could've hoped for.
At some point, Jack Adams voters have to acknowledge the job Maurice continues to do. It's safe and easy to give the coach of the year award to coaches who take a mediocre team one year and lead them to an elite finish the next year, but on some basic level, a coach's job is to steer his team through the muck of the regular-season and have them peaking by the time the playoffs arrive. And in the past three years in particular, Maurice has done exactly that, getting the Panthers to the point where they can dominate in each of the past three post-seasons.
Now, coaches definitely need assistance from their GM as far as giving them great talent to utilize, and coaches also need top performances from their players at crucial times. But many teams have had those elements in their favor, and yet none of them have had the success Maurice's Panthers have had of late. He's pushed all the right buttons, made all the right on-ice and off-ice decisions, and he's now made it to three-straight Cup finals, with the distinct possibility of winning two of them. That is a remarkable feat, and sooner rather than later, Jack Adams voters need to give Maurice his accolades.
Paul Maurice (Walter Tychnowicz-Imagn Images)
When Maurice does break Bowman's record for games-coached, it will be the coaching equivalent of Wayne Gretzky's all-time points mark. Unless a coach begins his NHL days in his twenties as Maurice did, and unless he can build on that early start with more than a quarter-century of surviving in the shark-infested waters of constant coach turnover, no one is going to seriously challenge Maurice for top spot in that regard.
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So while we can all congratulate Carbery on a job well done, we should also be clamoring for Maurice to get his own props one of these years. Only one person in the history of hockey has done it for longer than Maurice, and he's ascended to the echelon few will ever reach.
If Maurice goes his entire lifetime without a Jack Adams, it will be more of a comment on the errors made by Jack Adams voters than it will be about Maurice's talent. He's done it all, he's a legend-still-in-the-making, and he's got a lot of time left to add to his first-rate resume.
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