SUNRISE, Fla. — Of course it wasn’t easy.
Nothing ever has been in Paul Maurice’s coaching career.
Thrown to the wolves as an NHL head coach at 28 years old, only making the playoffs with mediocre rosters four times in his first 13 years, his coaching career has been an absolute grind.
So the idea that he finally got his Stanley Cup after his team survived a near-miracle comeback, that is par for the course.
“It’s time, he deserves it,” his wife, Michelle, tears running down her cheeks, said during the Florida Panthers celebration on the ice Monday night. “I was expecting this all day. It wasn’t easy, but what a great, great, great story.
“Let’s do it again next year.”
Well, let’s soak this in first.
A jubilant Maurice, hugging family members and players and anyone he could find from the organization, insisted that this Cup wasn’t about him.
“It’s not me, it’s not me,” Maurice said, the remnants of tears drying in the corner of his eyes. “That leadership in that room is unbelievable. I haven’t been driving this bus for two months. It’s all the players.
“I’m not trying to be humble. It’s why I love it here. I’ve got a small, little piece of this. These men are special guys.”
Maurice was brought in two years ago by Bill Zito. The Panthers…
