'It's been a lot of fun': Paul Maurice sets Panthers franchise mark for all-time coaching wins

Florida Panthers Head Coach Paul Maurice made some fairly significant franchise history on Saturday night.

While he hasn’t been with the team for particularly long, his two-plus seasons in South Florida have been extremely memorable for all the right reasons.

Florida’s 3-1 victory over the San Jose Sharks was the 111th win for Maurice as the Panthers bench boss.

That moved him past Jacques Martin for sole possession of the all-time wins list for head coaches of the Cats.

Martin, who coached Florida from 2006 to 2008, went 110-100-36 during his tenure behind the bench.

Maurice has coached 55 less games in South Florida than Martin did, and based off how the first few years have gone, he’ll likely end up with quite a few more under his belt as well.

“What’s the number?” Maurice asked when told of his new record.

“That’s not even three 40-win seasons,” he said with a smirk. “You don’t make the playoffs on 40 wins.”

Being the humble guy that he is, one that has been coaching in the NHL since the mid-90s, Maurice was quick to take some self-deprecating jabs at the milestone, but was quick to convey his appreciation for the accomplishment and what it meant for the franchise he is beyond happy to be a part of.

“I'm pleased that the team has played well for two and a half years, it’s just not a very big number,” he said. “I'm not bragging, but there'll be no tattoo. I won't be getting 111 tattooed anywhere.

"It’s been a lot of fun,” he continued. “But the intensity and the ups and downs and the success is what's made these guys are fun to coach. We've been in some wild games, some incredibly difficult situations, and found a way, and then reached the summit together. So yeah, I've enjoyed it. I didn't mean to mock the number. It's just, you come to the rink now, and this is such a good team, right? And you'd think that number be about 400 or 500, but we’ve got time.”

From an outside perspective, it’s true that Maurice’s time in South Florida doesn’t tip the scales a whole heck of a lot. While there have been some incredible coaching accomplishments, the literal time has been fairly minimal.

But for those who have been with the team for extended periods of time, what Maurice has done and the time in which he’s done it is nothing to sneeze at.

Franchise-wise, it’s a bigger accomplishment that some may think.

“It’s true, he might be the longest tenured coach during my time here,” said Panthers captain Sasha Barkov, who was correct with his in-the-moment assumption.

Since Barkov was drafted in 2013, the coach he played under the longest before Maurice was Gerard Gallant, who coached Barkov and the Panthers for 186 games from 2015 to 2017.

“He's meant a lot, and that tells you a lot,” Barkov said of Maurice and his new record. “He knows how to prepare the team to win games and to play the right way, and that's the most important (thing). He wants us to play the right way, and then the wins will come. And on top of that, he’s obviously a great human being and easy to talk to, and knows how to handle every single guy in this room. I’m really happy to have him, and really happy to play for him.”

Barkov wasn’t the only Panthers player who had some kind words for Maurice after Saturday’s win.

“Wow, that's amazing. It happened quick for him,” said Matthew Tkachuk. “He means a lot (to us), he always gets us prepared in the right mindset and head space. He's great at getting the best out of each and every player, which is super hard to do as a coach, but he's seemed to master that, so that's an unbelievable skill to have for him. We all love playing for him, and hopefully we can make that record that much bigger, so it's going to be hard to break.”

Based off his first two-plus seasons with the Panthers, and the success they have had and appear poised to continue having, Maurice could very well set some incredible marks as Florida’s head coach.

Time will tell.

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