Maurice reenergized, 'honored and humbled' to coach Panthers

SUNRISE, Fla. -- Paul Maurice said he's reinvigorated by the challenge of helping the Florida Panthers take the next step toward a Stanley Cup championship, and is thrilled to be their new coach, a little more than six months after resigning as coach of the Winnipeg Jets.

At a press conference introducing Maurice on Thursday, the 55-year-old said he was inspired and invigorated after his first conversation with Panthers general manager Bill Zito.
"I don't know how much time you've spent with Bill, but he can jack you up about hockey in about 15 minutes, right?" Maurice said. "So I'm in a lather an hour into the meeting and ready to go. And that's what drives me. And that's what I love, right?
"To be given this opportunity, it's humbling. They've got a lot of really strong pieces here. They've done some tremendous work here to get where they are. And I'm honored and humbled to be a part of it."
Maurice ranks seventh in NHL history with 775 wins and fourth in games coached with 1,684 behind Scotty Bowman (2,141), Barry Trotz (1,812) and Joel Quenneville (1,768). He is 775-680-130 with 99 ties through 14 seasons with the Hartford Whalers/Carolina Hurricanes, Toronto Maple Leafs and Jets.
He is 41-51 in 92 Stanley Cup Playoff games, including coaching the Hurricanes to the 2002 Stanley Cup Final, where they lost in five games to the Detroit Red Wings.
Maurice was 315-224-62 in 601 games with Winnipeg, including 13-11-5 this season before resigning as coach on Dec. 17 in his ninth season there, saying, "They need a new voice."
RELATED: [Fantasy spin: NHL coaching changes]
The Jets had qualified for the Stanley Cup Playoffs each of the previous four seasons under Maurice. When he resigned, he said he was unsure if he would coach again.
Maurice said the thought of coaching the Panthers first entered his mind when he was flipping through TV channels in January and stopped on one of their games. The idea became even more enticing after his son was accepted into the University of Miami, where he'll be studying law starting this fall.
But it was talking to Zito that clinched it for Maurice.
"Even with (his son heading to the University of Miami), I don't know about the fit, which would be primary for me in my profession," Maurice said. "Probably 10 days ago, I have a phone call with Bill. And that's where the process started. And then I get off the phone and I'm ready.
"So that switch got flipped real fast and it wasn't from I'm not coaching anymore; it was, I'm only going to a place that I think I can make a difference and I can be a part of something, a community, and team franchise because I want that passion in my life, too. I want that juice, right? That's what fires you up gets you to the rink on time."
Zito said the feeling was mutual.
"When we spoke to Paul Maurice, it was overwhelming that this was the man to be the real fit," Zito said. "It was a fit to take us into the challenges that are ahead of us moving forward ultimately to what our goal is. Looking forward to what to what we see on the horizon, the challenges that we're going to face with [the NHL salary] cap, with re-signing some of the guys and trying to get this moving forward and achieve the next level, experience is paramount."
Maurice replaces Andrew Brunette, who went 51-18-6 for the Panthers following a 7-0-0 start in the regular season after he replaced Joel Quenneville on Oct. 29. Quenneville resigned after being implicated during an independent investigation into the Chicago Blackhawks for allegations of sexual assault of former player Kyle Beach by then-video coach Brad Aldrich in 2010.
Brunette was runner-up for the Jack Adams Award as coach of the year; Darryl Sutter of the Calgary Flames won the award.
The Panthers (58-18-6) had the best record in their history and finished with 122 points, winning the Presidents' Trophy, awarded to to the team with the best regular-season record. But they were swept by the Tampa Bay Lightning in the second round of the playoffs, scoring three goals in four games, after leading the NHL in goals per game during the regular season (4.11).
"We're not coming in Day One and saying we're going to win the Stanley Cup, because we can't win it that day," Maurice said. "But what we can do is work our [butts] off that day and prepare for that. So that's our focus going forward. Certainly, there's enough talent here that you think we can get into going in the right direction. We are a team that will be considered, right? We're in that group. ... It's very, very difficult to blast through the playoffs if you just think, 'You play your game,' right? The other team is getting paid, too. So we invest every day, every single day we invest in our future by our work ethic that day."
Maurice is the fifth coach to be hired since the conclusion of the regular season. Lane Lambert was hired by the New York Islanders on May 16, Bruce Cassidy replaced Peter DeBoer as coach of the Vegas Golden Knights on June 17, John Tortorella was hired by the Philadelphia Flyers on June 17, and DeBoer was hired by the Dallas Stars on June 21.
The Jets, Boston Bruins, Detroit Red Wings and Chicago Blackhawks each are in the midst of a coaching search.