The Florida Panthers have decided not to retain interim head coach Andrew Brunette following the team’s best season in franchise history. They have tapped former Winnipeg Jets bench boss Paul Maurice as head coach.
The 55-year-old signed a three-year contract worth short of $4 million a year, according to Pierre LeBrun. The two sides were reportedly in talks about the vacancy earlier in the day on Wednesday.
Brunette was named the interim coach of the Panthers on October 29, 2021. He took over for Joel Quenneville, who resigned after reports emerged he ignored Kyle Beach’s sexual assault allegations during the Chicago Blackhawks’ 2010 Stanley Cup championship run.
The Panthers finished 58-18-6 with 122 points, setting franchise records in both wins and points in a season. However, they were swept in the Eastern Conference Quarter-Finals by the eventual Eastern Conference champion Tampa Bay Lightning.
Maurice resigned from the Jets on December 17, 2021, following a disappointing start to the season for Winnipeg. He helped lead the team to a Western Conference Finals appearance in 2017-18, but lost to the expansion Vegas Golden Knights. Winnipeg also made the playoffs in four consecutive seasons from 2017-18 to 2020-21.
Prior to the Jets, the 55-year-old bench boss coached the Hartford Whalers/Carolina Hurricanes, and Toronto Maple Leafs. He also spent time with Metallurg Magnitogorsk of the KHL. He led the Hurricanes to the Stanley Cup Finals in 2001-02 but lost to the Detroit Red Wings.
The Panthers are a team looking to make a deep postseason run. Their acquisitions of Claude Giroux and Ben Chiarot put them in a position to go deep. Florida hopes that a fresh voice in the dressing room can lead them to the Stanley Cup Finals for the first time since 1996.
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