Maurice resignation as Jets coach shocking, but understandable
Cotsonika: In ninth season, said he knew Winnipeg 'needed a new voice' to reach next level
And so, in an unusually introspective parting press conference Friday, it was shocking and understandable at the same time to hear why he resigned from the Winnipeg Jets.
"If you would allow me some arrogance, I would say that I'm 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 help them get to that next place."
Maurice said it was "100 percent" his decision.
"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,'" Maurice said. "I get to at least feel I've done it right."
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General manager Kevin Cheveldayoff made it seem more mutual than that. Asked if he was going to fire Maurice, Cheveldayoff didn't answer the question directly. He alternated between saying Maurice and the Jets made the decision, and he said the Jets would take care of Maurice contractually. Maurice signed a multiyear extension Feb. 13, 2020.
"I think he definitely felt that he couldn't push the buttons, and we came to an agreement," Cheveldayoff said.
Cheveldayoff said Dave Lowry, in his second season as an assistant with the Jets, will be the coach for the rest of the season.
Still, however they spin it, this seems like a case study of The Great Resignation and the coaching profession in the NHL as much as of Maurice and the Jets.
The Great Resignation is the trend of people leaving jobs amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Maurice has the luxury of leaving his job in a way most people don't. He ranks fourth in games (1,684) and sixth in wins (775) among coaches in NHL history, so he's been there, done that, and he has been paid well and apparently will continue to be. But that doesn't mean the pandemic didn't wear on him.
Maurice said Friday he didn't enjoy coming to the rink last season, when COVID-19 protocols were strict and Winnipeg couldn't have fans in the stands. No fans? In Winnipeg, which normally has one of the loudest rinks in the League?
"Like, what's the point, right?" Maurice said.
That's a red flag.
"If you lose some of that passion for the game, the love of the game, you can still be good, but you can't be as good as you should be or you could be, and that's how I feel I am," Maurice said.
Maurice said he, Cheveldayoff and owner Mark Chipman talked about his feelings over the summer and whether he was the right person for the job going forward.
"It's really important to me for that to be true, because if not, you're just taking a paycheck and it's about your own career," Maurice said. "And I don't think I've ever been about that in my career, but I'm certainly past that now."
Maurice said he came to training camp energized, but it wasn't enough. His message had less of an effect and coaching became more of a grind. Bottom line: The Jets weren't as good as they could have been.
The Jets (13-11-5) are fifth in the Central Division after a 5-2 loss to the Washington Capitals on Friday in Lowry's debut.
"I couldn't find the right grab on this team, and you could see it in the way we played," Maurice said. "Yeah, they played hard, but so much of this game is emotion and drive, and as the head coach, you have to bring that. And I was [bringing it]. It was just a really small return for that energy, and that's why coaches get changed."
The first time Maurice was an NHL coach, he lasted nine seasons with the Hartford Whalers/Carolina Hurricanes, from 1995-04. He spent two seasons with the Toronto Maple Leafs, from 2006-08, and four more with the Hurricanes, from 2008-12.
This was his ninth season with the Jets. He was the second-longest-tenured coach in the NHL behind Jon Cooper, who has been with the Tampa Bay Lightning since 2012-13 and has won the Stanley Cup the past two seasons.
"There is a shelf life for what we do," Maurice said. "The only way that shelf life gets extended is if you can win championships."
Cheveldayoff said a lot of the conversations he had with Maurice were about getting to the next level. What's it going to take? Can the Jets get there? Cheveldayoff indicated it was hard to make moves with teams tight against the NHL salary cap.
In that situation, it's easier for the coach to go.
"I love these guys," Maurice said. "I love this place. I know that it's time, and that's a good thing for the Jets. It's also a really, really good thing for me."
