NHL Coach Paul Maurice
At age 43, Paul Maurice became the youngest coach in NHL history to coach 1,000 games, reaching the milestone on November 28, 2010. He also holds the record for the most losses by an NHL coach with 765 (2025). Maurice began playing with the Windsor Spitfires of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) in 1984–85, appearing in 38 games with the club and earning three assists. After his rookie season, Maurice was selected by the Philadelphia Flyers in the 12th round, 252nd overall, in the 1985 NHL Entry Draft, which was the final selection of that year’s draft. Maurice played four years of junior ice hockey as a defenceman in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) before suffering an eye injury. As a result of his eye injury, he still has a blind spot and suffers from fuzziness on the right side of his vision.
Maurice was the odd man out to make room on the roster. Owner Peter Karmanos gave Maurice an ultimatum: be traded or become an assistant coach with the team. Choosing the latter, Maurice retired from playing and focused his career on coaching.
Maurice began his coaching career as an assistant coach with the Spitfires after he retired as a player. He started working under head coach Tom Webster. The Spitfires finished the 1987–88 season with the best record in the league, going 50–14–2. Windsor swept the Kitchener Rangers, Hamilton Steelhawks, and Peterborough Petes in the playoffs to win the J. Ross Robertson Cup and earn a berth in the 1988 Memorial Cup. In the round-robin portion of the tournament, the Spitfires went 3–0, outscoring the opposition 18–9, and clinched a position in the Memorial Cup final. In the final game, the Spitfires were upset by the Medicine Hat Tigers, losing 7–6.
In 1992–93, the Ambassadors renamed their team, becoming the Detroit Jr. Red Wings. Maurice remained an assistant, as the club hired Tom Webster, who had coached Maurice as a player with the Windsor Spitfires. The Jr. Red Wings promoted Maurice to club head coach in 1993–94, after Tom Webster was relieved of his duties due to a disagreement over team policies. While with the Red Wings, Maurice led the team to back-to-back J. Ross Robertson Cup finals, winning the championship in their second appearance. The win catapulted the team into the 1995 Memorial Cup round robin, where it lost 8-2 to the Kamloops Blazers in the championship game.
Maurice joined the Hartford Whalers, recently purchased by Detroit Jr. Red Wings owner Peter Karmanos, as an assistant coach under head coach Paul Holmgren. After the Whalers struggled to a 5–6–1 record to begin the season, the Whalers fired Holmgren and promoted Maurice to head coach.
At 28, Maurice became the second youngest coach in National Hockey League history, behind Gary Green, who was 26 when he took the helm of the Washington Capitals in 1979. Maurice coached his first game on November 7, 1995, as the Whalers defeated the San Jose Sharks 7–3. Under Maurice, Hartford went 29–33–8, failing to qualify for the 1996 playoffs.
The Whalers franchise moved to Raleigh, North Carolina, in 1997–98 and were renamed the Carolina Hurricanes; Maurice was retained as head coach of the club. The Hurricanes won their second division title since moving from Hartford in 2001–02. They went 35–26–16–5, earning 91 points and entering the playoffs as the third seed in the East. The Hurricanes defeated the favoured New Jersey Devils in six games in the first round. They then defeated the Montreal Canadiens and Toronto Maple Leafs to win the Eastern Conference, setting up the Stanley Cup Finals against the Detroit Red Wings, in which the Hurricanes lost in five games. In 2003–04, 30 games in, the club had an 8–12–8–2 record. On December 15, 2003, the Hurricanes fired Maurice and replaced him with Peter Laviolette.
On June 24, 2005, the Toronto Maple Leafs hired Maurice to become the head coach of their American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Toronto Marlies, for the 2005–06 season.
Maurice became the Maple Leafs’ head coach in the 2006–07 season after the club failed to reach the playoffs in 2005–06. He relieved Pat Quinn of his duties. After failing to make the playoffs in Toronto, Maurice was fired from the Maple Leafs on May 7, 2008.
On December 3, 2008, the Hurricanes rehired Maurice after firing Peter Laviolette, who had replaced him in 2003. Initial responses under Maurice were good, and the team had a successful playoff run in his first season, losing in round three to the eventual Stanley Cup champions, the Pittsburgh Penguins. However, the following two seasons saw the team regress and not qualify for the playoffs. On November 28, 2011, the Carolina Hurricanes announced that Maurice had been fired for a second time.
On June 8, 2012, Maurice was hired as head coach of Metallurg Magnitogorsk of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) for the 2012–13 season. After the season, Maurice returned to North America to be closer to his family.
In January 2014, he was hired as head coach of the Winnipeg Jets.
On October 20, 2017, Maurice won his 600th game as an NHL head coach, becoming the 17th coach to achieve this feat.
In 2017–18, Maurice brought the Jets to the Western Conference finals before losing to the Vegas Golden Knights 4–1.
After he resigned from the Jets in December 2021, Maurice was named head coach of the Florida Panthers in June 2022. He led the Panthers to consecutive appearances in the 2023 and 2024 Stanley Cup Finals, losing in five games to the Golden Knights in 2023. On June 24, 2024, Maurice coached the Panthers to the team’s first Stanley Cup championship, winning the series in seven games after taking a 3–0 lead against the Edmonton Oilers.
He did so in his 26th season as head coach, the most seasons coached for a first-time champion.
On December 27, 2023, Maurice became the third head coach in NHL history to coach in 1,800 regular-season games. On January 24, 2024, Maurice coached his 1,813th NHL game, passing Barry Trotz for second place on the most games coached list, as the Panthers won 6–2 against the Arizona Coyotes. He is currently in second place in all-time NHL Games coached with 1931 to end the 2025 regular season.
Known for his resilience, Paul Maurice has achieved several NHL coaching milestones and is among the top in all-time coaching wins. His journey from junior hockey to NHL success is a testament to his dedication and strategic brilliance.
Keep Your Stick on the Ice.
