Paul Maurice: the most interesting man in hockey? If you need any convincing regarding the previous statement, take two and a half minutes to listen to the clip that Florida Panthers rinkside reporter Katie Engleson posted that came from a sit-down she had with the Panthers head coach.
In it, Engleson pressed Maurice about his entertaining press conferences and how online someone mentioned that they'd like him as a life coach. Maurice, in turn, laughs and has one of the more classic answers in a way only Paul Maurice can; then he gets serious.
Although Maurice hasn't had the opportunity to win a Stanley Cup during his twenty-six-year coaching career, he has taken everything he's experienced in stride, not just as a bench boss but as a person. He expressed through humility that, even though he's grateful for the chance to coach in the National Hockey League, he's not perfect. Paul suggests that his brother Mike put how he acts during press conferences into perspective because that's where he's been able to learn about the game, which says an awful lot about the coach's ability to communicate and explain effectively to those who are willing to listen. He admits openly that there came a point in his life where he just stopped caring about how he came across because he realized that as long as he was doing it appropriately in his eyes, it didn't matter.
As the heavy favourites four wins away from lifting hockey's holy grail, Maurice and the Florida Panthers are on the verge of exacting retribution for losing to the Vegas Golden Knights last season, and even if many believe that he's quite possibly a lock for the Hockey Hall of Fame one day, winning a ring could very well cement that possibility.
