Paul Maurice talked about the Florida Panthers' leadership, improvements they still need to make, the importance of their identity and culture, and why nothing will come as a surprise to them this season when the coach joined the "NHL @TheRink" podcast Wednesday.
Maurice is the featured guest in this week's episode with co-hosts Dan Rosen and Shawn P. Roarke.
He spoke about the Panthers being the second wild card last season and how it earned them the right to play the historically good Boston Bruins in the Eastern Conference First Round.
Maurice said it looked like the worst thing that could happen, but it instead turned out to be the best thing that happened to the Panthers. They won the series in seven games and went all the way to the Stanley Cup Final.
The Panthers could finish as the top team in the East this season, and they know it won't matter when Game 1 rolls around.
"We learned everything we needed to learn," Maurice said.
In addition to chatting with Maurice for nearly 20 minutes, Rosen and Roarke discussed the fallout from the 2024 NHL Trade Deadline, in particular offering opinions on the Pittsburgh Penguins decision to trade Jake Guentzel to the Carolina Hurricanes and the return they got.
Was Guentzel overvalued or did the Penguins get the exact right return for him? That question and more was broached and answered in the podcast.
They agreed that the New York Rangers and Hurricanes are contenders in the Eastern Conference with the Panthers, and talked about the wide-open Western Conference, in particular the kind of impact Tomas Hertl might be able to have on the Vegas Golden Knights when he returns from injury.
Rosen and Roarke also discussed the Golden Knights' ability to add Hertl and the NHL salary cap ramifications for them and the San Jose Sharks, with some disbelief that the Sharks would retain 17 percent of Hertl's contract for the next six seasons.
They also talked about the New Jersey Devils goaltending situation, the additions of Jake Allen and Kaapo Kahkonen on Friday, how it resets their depth at the position and still sets them up to look for a No. 1 goalie like Jacob Markstrom in the offseason.
The "NHL @TheRink" podcast is free and listeners can subscribe on all podcast platforms. It is also available on NHL.com/multimedia/podcasts and the NHL app.
