Paul Maurice
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Paul Maurice (born January 30, 1967 in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario) is a professional hockey coach. He is currently the head coach of the Toronto Maple Leafs of the National Hockey League.
In 1985, Paul played defence for the Windsor Spitfires of the Ontario Hockey League. He was struck in the eye by a puck, which had ricocheted off his stick, during a charity hockey game in which he was participating. He still has a blind spot and suffers fuzziness on the right side of his field of vision. When goalie Pat Jablonski was sent down by the St. Louis Blues, the Windsor Spitfires were therefore in excess number of players. At this point he was given the option by team owner Peter Karmanos to be traded or step behind the bench. He thus began his coaching career with the Detroit Junior Red Wings (a team Karmanos operated) of the OHL from 1993 to 1995, leading the team to the J. Ross Robertson Cup and a second place finish in Memorial Cup in 1995.
He was then hired to coach the Hartford Whalers (later the Carolina Hurricanes) of the NHL in 1995, at the remarkably young age of 28. Throughout much of his tenure, he was the youngest active coach in the NHL. The high point of his NHL career came in the 2001-02 NHL season, when the Hurricanes reached the Stanley Cup finals, losing to the Detroit Red Wings. After coaching 604 regular season games, he was let go by the Hurricanes in 2003 when the team started the first 20 games 8-12.
On June 24, 2005 he was hired to coach the Toronto Marlies, after the team had relocated from St. John's, Newfoundland. In the 2005-06 season, the Marlies qualified for fourth playoff spot in their division. They were subsequently eliminated by the Grand Rapids Griffins in the first round.
On May 12, 2006, The Toronto Maple Leafs announced Paul Maurice as the head coach of the team starting in the 2006-07 NHL season, replacing former head coach Pat Quinn, who was let go on April 20, 2006.
He incorporates many ideas into his gameplay such as heart monitors on the benches. He favours short (30 second) shifts over longer ones.
[edit] Coaching Record
| Team | Year | Regular Season | Post Season | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | W | L | T | OTL | Pts | Finish | W | L | Win % | Result | ||
| HAR | 95/96 | 70 | 29 | 33 | 8 | - | 66 | 5th in Northeast | - | - | - | - |
| HAR | 96/97 | 82 | 32 | 39 | 11 | - | 75 | 5th in Northeast | - | - | - | |
| CAR | 97/98 | 82 | 33 | 41 | 8 | - | 74 | 6th in Northeast | - | - | - | |
| CAR | 98/99 | 82 | 34 | 30 | 18 | - | 80 | 1st in Southeast | 2 | 4 | .333 | Conference Quarter-Finalist |
| CAR | 99/00 | 82 | 37 | 35 | 10 | 0 | 84 | 3rd in Southeast | - | - | - | |
| CAR | 00/01 | 82 | 38 | 32 | 9 | 3 | 88 | 2nd in Southeast | 2 | 4 | .333 | Conference Quarter-Finalist |
| CAR | 01/02 | 82 | 35 | 26 | 16 | 5 | 91 | 1st in Southeast | 13 | 10 | .565 | Runner up |
| CAR | 02/03 | 82 | 22 | 43 | 11 | 6 | 61 | 5th in Southeast | - | - | - | |
| CAR | 03/04 | 30 | 8 | 12 | 8 | 2 | 26 | - | - | - | - | |
| HAR/CAR Total | 674 | 268 | 291 | 99 | 16 | 697 | 17 | 18 | .486 | 3 Playoff Appearances | ||
| TOR | 06/07 | 80 | 39 | 30 | - | 11 | 89 | 4rd in Northeast | ||||
| TOR Total | 73 | 35 | 28 | - | 10 | 78 | ||||||
| Total | 747 | 303 | 319 | 99 | 26 | 773 | 17 | 18 | .486 | 3 Playoff Appearances | ||
[edit] Miscellaneous facts
- He was drafted 252nd (last overall) by the Philadelphia Flyers in the 1985 NHL Entry Draft.
- He has only peripheral vision and fuzziness in his right eye after he was struck by a puck during a charity hockey game, in 1985, while he was playing defence for the Windsor Spitfires of the Ontario Hockey League.
- Paul Maurice is not the only member of his family with eye related issues. His father, Denis Maurice, lost his right eye when, at the age of 5, he was accidentally struck by a shovel. His brother, Shane Maurice, has not had full use of his right eye since birth.
- He and his wife, Michelle, have three children: Sydney, Jake, and Luke.
[edit] External links
| Carolina Hurricanes Head Coaches |
|---|
| Maurice • Laviolette |
| Toronto Maple Leafs Head Coaches |
|---|
| ARENAS: D. Carroll • ST. PATS: Heffernan • Sproule • F. Carroll • O'Donoghue • Querrie • Powers • Rodden • MAPLE LEAFS: Romeril • Smythe • Duncan • Irvin • Day • Primeau • Clancy • Meeker • Reay • Imlach • McLellan • Kelly • Neilson • Smith • Duff • Crozier • Nykoluk • Maloney • Brophy • Armstrong • Carpenter • Watt • Burns • Beverley • Murphy • Quinn • Maurice |
| Preceded by Paul Holmgren |
Head Coach of the Hartford Whalers 1995-1997 |
Succeeded by last coach |
| Preceded by first coach |
Head Coach of the Carolina Hurricanes 1997-2003 |
Succeeded by Peter Laviolette |
| Preceded by Pat Quinn |
Head Coach of the Toronto Maple Leafs 2006-Present |
Succeeded by incumbent |
