LEAFS-PANTHERS NOTES: Paul Maurice left his mark in Toronto

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Published May 02, 2023  •  Last updated 13 hours ago  •  4 minute read

Head coach Paul Maurice of the Florida Panthers directs the players during third period action against the Boston Bruins in Game Six of the First Round of the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs at the FLA Live Arena on April 28, 2023 in Sunrise, Florida. Photo by Joel Auerbach /Getty Images

It was the rant that launched a winning streak and a stunning upset,  which ultimately brought the Florida Panthers to Toronto on Tuesday to start an unexpected second round match.

Paul Maurice turned the air blue back on March 29 at Scotiabank Arena, a bench tantrum that scared people behind the glass in the first row and certainly got the attention of his team. Maurice later joked he must have channelled his father, whom he described as a world-class curser.

“We needed that,” said forward Matthew Tkachuk on Tuesday, recalling the 3-2 win.

It turned Florida’s four-game losing streak into a half dozen victories to put them in wildcard playoff position, where they upset the Presidents’ Trophy-winning Boston Bruins.

That series included overcoming a 3-1 deficit and Tkachuk’s overtime goal in Boston in Game 7.

“It seems like forever ago we were in that position, but that changed our season,” Tkachuk added. “(Goalie) Alex Lyon came in and basically we stole and got the ball rolling.

“You can’t really write that story the way it happened, but we’ll take it. What you saw there was the fire in Paul. The last few games prior, we’d not played well.”

Maurice didn’t want to take too much credit as such explosions can lose their effectiveness if repeated.

“I don’t think anything changed, other than they stopped listening to me,” Maurice dead-panned. “It was my own frustration (after what he thought was a good effort in Ottawa the game before). There was some turnovers I didn’t like … I don’t remember what I said, but it wasn’t very nice.”

Tkachuk’s benevolence towards the Leafs in this series likely began and ended with his Tuesday podium plaudits. He’ll be a challenge to control on the ice.

“Boston did what they did (a record 65 wins, 135 points) and Toronto was the team right behind them (111),” Tkachuk said. “That’s the prize for knocking off the best team in the league, you get the second-best.

“Now there’s eight left and out of those, the Leafs have had the most points, so it wouldn’t shock me if they were the (Cup) favourites.

“End of the day, everything is back to zeroes.

“One thing that brought us together in the last series was that we were a crazy underdog story and that doesn’t change this series.”

Even in the small NHL coaching world, it’s remarkable to have Maurice against Sheldon Keefe in this series. Both coached the AHL Marlies, Maurice also coached the Leafs.

“Paul has been around, seen it and done it all,” Keefe said of his 1,767 NHL games, fourth all-time. “His ability to stay relevant in the league and have success is great. Any time in my career, as a junior, AHL or NHL coach, Paul’s been tremendous in supporting me (reaching out when Keefe replaced Mike Babcock) and other coaches in the league.”

Maurice said working in Toronto in 2006-08, his first assignment in a Canadian market, was an eye-opener. The Leafs missed the playoffs by a point his first year, and struggled badly the next.

“A completely different animal,” he said in comparison to his NHL start in Carolina. “You have to be aware of the impact of what you say in your room and how it sets the stage for the message. I wasn’t necessarily prepared for it, but I learned.”

He called it ‘an epiphany’ one day driving home and fretting about how his multiple quotes on the hot button issue of the day would be dissected.

“I said ‘That’s it, I’m never going to worry about what I say again. Try to tell the truth and get off, and I mess it up I mess it up.’”

Maurice was the coach who dashed Toronto’s Cup hopes the last time they got to the third round in ’02, his Hurricanes slowing down the already banged-up Leafs stars in six very low-scoring games. That Carolina club included Rod Brind’Amour, now the Canes coach, and future Leafs Jeff O’Neill, Ron Francis and Glen Wesley.

“I remember Marty Gelinas (seven playoff points), Jonas Hoglund missed an empty net, Pat Quinn getting sick (a heart issue for Toronto’s coach),” Maurice said. “The sneaky part? I don’t believe we gave up on a 5-on-5 goal in that series. We gave up 6-on-5, 4-on-4, every possible other way you could think of.

“That was back when you could get away with clutching and grabbing. And we were really good at it.”

At Lightning locker clean-out on Tuesday, Pat Maroon tipped his hat to former St. Louis Blues’ teammate Ryan O’Reilly as one of the Leafs veterans who can do the little things that make a team perfect. They spoke briefly in Saturday’s handshake line where O’Reilly noted Maroon’s long string of Cup finals. “He was pretty upset, he wanted to keep it going. He just made a Hall of Fame run for consecutive playoff series. You go the distance four years in a row, you’re kind of due for a nice summer of relaxing. We had a chuckle about that. I think he’ll enjoy the break … Leaf defenceman Jake McCabe, on whether the Panthers’ attempt to limit Leaf supporters through monitoring ticket sales will work: “I doubt it” … Leaf captain Tavares on the remaining eight survivors. “Every team that’s moved on now feels good at where they’re at and their game. That’s the importance of turning the page (the Leafs going 19 years between wins) and responding right away.”

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