Paul Maurice has been the head coach of the Florida Panthers since the 2022-23 season and is the only bench boss to lead the franchise to a Stanley Cup championship, winning back-to-back titles in 2024 and 2025. After five seasons, he’s already the Panthers’ all-time winning coach with a 181-125-22 record through 328 contests with a 45-23 playoff record. Maurice is the 18th head coach in Florida history and only the third to win more than 100 games while being the seventh to guide the team into the playoffs.
Here Are Five Fascinating Facts About Paul Maurice
Maurice is only the second head coach to reach 2,000 NHL games
Considering that Maurice took his first NHL coaching job in 1995, over 30 years ago, he’s become one of the longest-tenured bench bosses in NHL history. Last year, he coached in his 2,000th game, becoming only the second head coach to reach the milestone behind the legendary Scotty Bowman. Heading into the 2026 season, Maurice is just 129 games from dethroning the greatest hockey coach of all time for the top spot.
Moreover, Maurice has secured 956 victories as head coach, ranking third all-time behind Joel Quenneville (1,012) and Bowman (1,244). Considering that Quenneville, who briefly coached the Panthers for two seasons, is also chasing down Bowman’s once untouchable records, he’s slightly ahead by 56 victories.
Maurice coached one season in the KHL
With a pretty impressive coaching resume in the NHL, it’s no wonder that Maurice ventured over to Russia during the 2012-13 lockout and took over Metallurg Magnitogorsk as head coach. Interestingly, one of his assistants was Hockey Hall of Famer Tom Barrasso, who worked and played with Maurice during his stint with the Carolina Hurricanes in the early 2000s.
Magnitogorsk’s captain that season was Evgeni Malkin, someone Maurice has coached against his entire career as a member of the Pittsburgh Penguins. The team also featured Ryan O’Reilly, Mats Zuccarello, Sergei Gonchar, and Oleg Tverdovsky. Overall, the team finished with a 27-13 record, good enough for fourth in the KHL’s Eastern Conference.
Maurice’s son Jake is in the broadcast business
Paul Maurice has coached four different NHL franchises: the Hartford Whalers/Hurricanes, Toronto Maple Leafs, Winnipeg Jets, and Panthers. Eventually, when his son Jake was old enough, he got into the hockey business as a broadcaster, landing his first professional gig with the Winnipeg Blues in 2019-20. From 2013 to 2022, Paul coached the Jets, so the family's connection to the city ran deeper than just the NHL club.
Jake stayed with the Blues for three seasons, while picking up broadcaster responsibilities with the Winnipeg Freeze in 2020 and holding them until the family left town in 2022. However, he followed his dad to Florida in 2022, becoming a broadcaster and Media Manager for the Florida Everblades in the ECHL. For the past four seasons, Jake has been with the Everblades and was part of their three Kelly Cup championships in 2023, 2024, and 2026.
Maurice was the last coach of the Hartford Whalers
Maurice began his coaching career during the 1987-88 season with the Windsor Compuwave Spitfires. He stayed with the club for two more seasons, then moved to the Detroit Compuware Ambassadors in 1990-91, becoming head coach in 1991-92. Eventually, Maurice became the team’s GM and head coach when an NHL opportunity came his way in 1995-96.
Initially hired as an assistant coach with the Whalers for the 1995-96 season, Maurice ascended to his first NHL head coaching role on November 7, 1995, becoming the second-youngest bench boss in league history at just 28. He remained with the club through their final season in Connecticut before the franchise relocated to Carolina and became the Hurricanes.
During his first tenure with the club, 1995-2004, he guided them to the 2002 Stanley Cup Final, where they lost to the Detroit Red Wings in five games. As of 2026, Maurice remains the winningest coach in Whalers/Hurricanes history, with 384 wins, just six more than current head coach Rod Brind’Amour.
Maurice was the last pick in the 12th round of the 1985 NHL Draft
Maurice was a defenseman for the Windsor Compuware Spitfires from 1984 to 1988, when the Philadelphia Flyers selected him 252nd overall at the 1985 NHL Draft. However, during his final season in the OHL, he suffered from an eye injury that prematurely ended his hockey career. According to his Wikipedia profile, Maurice was going to be cut or traded, but Peter Karmanos offered him an assistant coaching role, kick-starting his career behind the bench. In 189 games, he scored eight goals and 40 points. Â
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