Florida Panthers extend Stanley Cup winning coach

The announcement was made Tuesday night before they dropped the puck in Sunrise by general manager Bill Zito.

Stanley Cup winning coach Paul Maurice of the Florida Panthers agreed to terms on a multi-year contract extension. He will continue to coach the team into the foreseeable future.

Terms of the contract were not disclosed.

“Paul has resolutely led our organization to unprecedented success during his relatively short tenure in South Florida,” said Zito. “He is a superb communicator and leader for our staff and players, possessing a keen strategic mind for the game. We are excited for Paul and his staff to continue to keep the Florida Panthers as a destination franchise for the foreseeable future.”

Maurice, 57, is in his third season as head coach of the Florida Panthers. He has compiled a 98-58-15 regular season record as bench boss of the Cats, while his 29 postseason wins (29-16) are the most in franchise history.

The Ontario native led the Panthers to the Stanley Cup Final in each of his first two seasons behind the bench. The team won its first championship in 2023-24.

Maurice owns a postseason series record of 7-1 with Florida, including two game seven victories (at Boston in Round 1, 2023 and vs. Edmonton in the 2024 Stanley Cup Final) improving his personal record in game sevens to 5-0.

After the contract was announced, the Panthers dropped a 5-1 decision to the Minnesota Wild. The always affable Maurice even made a crack about the contract before thanking the ownership.

“I’m just thankful, and hopeful, I guess, that the ink dried on that thing,’’ Maurice said during his postgame interview.

“It is an honor,” Maurice said, “and I am very thankful and appreciative to the Viola family not just for their generosity, but for the investment that they have made here over the years. To have such an incredible program — what’s that line? — I have been born on third so I can’t brag about the triple I just hit. This is a really good program when I showed up, really good people. We have had success together and a lot of people have made that possible — the players, first and foremost.’’

Maurice has served as head coach for 1,855 regular season NHL games, second only to Scotty Bowman (2,141) for the most in League history. His 873 career wins rank fourth all time.

“There was really no negotiation,” Maurice said. “They made me a really nice offer, we shook hands and I said thank you.”