Maurice leaves behind a lasting legacy in Winnipeg

WINNIPEG - Paul Maurice has stepped to the podium inside Matt Frost Media Centre countless times since January 12, 2014.
When he did it on Friday though, it was much different. This time, he was announcing his resignation from a post he'd held for almost eight years.
"This is a good team, I'm a good coach," Maurice said. "And sometimes when you take over a team and it's kind of like you're starting at the bottom of a mountain and you're pushing a rock up to the top, you can only get it to a certain place."
Maurice leaves the Jets bench as the second longest tenured coach in the National Hockey League, behind only Tampa Bay's Jon Cooper. He also helped the Jets to every one of their Stanley Cup Playoffs appearances - first in 2015, a Western Conference Final berth in 2018, and another three consecutive postseason appearances after that.
It's because of that experience, combined with the knowledge he's gained since he took over as head coach of the Hartford Whalers in 1996, that he knew it was time to step aside.
"If you would allow me some arrogance; I would say, I am better positioned than anyone to know that they need a new voice," Maurice said. "They haven't quit on me. They're a good bunch of men. My relationship is strong with all of them, and I'm cheering for them, I am. But when you have a 26-year professional hockey coaching career, you know, they need a new voice. They need somebody to get to that next place."

This wasn't a decision Maurice made lightly. Maurice has always had the ear of general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff and Executive Chairman, Mark Chipman. The three would often talk about where the team was at, where they wanted it to get to, and what was needed to get them there.
"Day after a game, win or loss, Paul and I generally have a good heart-to-heart and talk about a lot of different things," Cheveldayoff said. "When Paul and I talked, it's a good day for the Jets here right now because I think on the Paul Maurice side, he's comfortable with where he's at but I think for the Jets, we have an opportunity now to move forward with a new voice."
Even if Maurice decided it was the right thing to do, it didn't make telling the team any easier.
Maurice spoke to injured captain Blake Wheeler first, feeling like he owed Wheeler that much. After that conversation, Maurice addressed the entire team.
"It's a big shock. Anytime this happens, you can't think it's a good day," said Mark Scheifele. "It's one of those things that shocks you. You have to take a look in the mirror and reflect on things. I'd like to thank Paul for everything he's done for my career and this team. I have nothing but great memories with him as my head coach."
Maurice has been Scheifele's head coach for nearly his entire NHL career, which spans 597 regular season games and 33 playoff games. The same can be said for Adam Lowry, Andrew Copp, and Josh Morrissey.

Given everything Morrissey has been through off the ice in the last 18 months, the defenceman appreciated Maurice's support.
"I really valued him as a mentor and as a coach, and his respect for my family through some difficult times and what he was able to do for me," Morrissey said. "Sad to know that he's leaving, but very thankful for what he's done for me on and off the ice."
Perhaps that's what best encapsulates what Maurice meant to the team, the city, and the province.
He was excited for his fellow coach, Mike O'Shea, when the Winnipeg Blue Bombers earned their second consecutive Grey Cup. He was a fixture at numerous community events.
And he cared immensely about the organization.
"Part of my sense of responsibility isn't just to the organization, it's to the fans, too," Maurice said. "I could do a good job here. I could have continued. I just would have known it wasn't right. And I don't want to do that.
"I think a new voice with this group, this town, is going to be great."
For the rest of the season, Dave Lowry will be the interim head coach. Lowry is someone Maurice has worked with over the past couple seasons. That staff will be joined by Jamie Kompon, who - up until this point - hasn't been with the team as he and his wife, Tina, remained in California due to Tina's cancer battle.

Kompon's return helps with Maurice's continued optimism for the Jets moving forward.
"They're going to do a good job," Maurice said. "I know when I'm talking to them that they've got good ideas and good places and they're smart. There's good texture in the mix. There's different kinds of personalities in there. They're going to do real well. They just need to hear it a different way."
There was no 'breaking point,' as is often the case in these situations. The message never got stale in the room, according to the players, even as the team worked to bounce back from Tuesday's 4-2 loss to the Buffalo Sabres.
"He's taught me a lot. He's been a guy that I respect so much," said Scheifele. "He's an amazing hockey man, but he's an even better human being. He cares about every single one of us, and I think each and every guy in this room feels that he truly does care about each and every one of us."
And if that's the legacy Maurice is leaving behind, it's fitting. Every interaction he had with players, management, training staff, or fans left each person feeling the exact same way.
He did what was best for the team and organization for nearly eight years, right up until his final day in the coach's office.
"In my mind it was a selfless act," Scheifele said. "He's a guy that loves this organization, loves this city, and loves this community."
And so, Maurice will leave Canada Life Centre with his head held high - and deservedly so.
"I'm tremendously proud of the work that we've done here, and I get to stay that way," he said. "I'm not going to be looking back two months from now going, 'you knew you should have stepped aside and you didn't, and that's wrong.' I get to at least feel I've done it right."