Paul Maurice, head coach of the Florida Panthers
Paul Maurice, head coach of the Florida Panthers

After a practice day on Saturday, Panthers head coach Paul Maurice discussed the challenge of shutting down the Leafs’ star talent, the tradition of coaches taking part in the handshake line, and Matthew Tkachuk skating separate from the practice group.

Practice Lines – May 3

Looking back at the 2023 series against Toronto, the core players are the same, but how different is the series, based on the changes both teams made?

Maurice: It is completely different. There is no value in any history with that, other than that we learned in Game 4 of that series what it is like to go into a clinching game and try to hope out a win. We have carried the lesson forward with us. I think we learned that.

All of the other players have completely changed. They’ve also had a fairly significant style change in their game with their coaching change. It was still our first year [with Maurice coaching the team], so we’ve had a style change, too. We’ve gotten to it over time.

They’ve had a significant change. Half of our teams are different. There is not much at all to be used from that series.

The regular season isn’t always an indication of how a playoff series will go, but your team was able to keep Auston Matthews, William Nylander, and Mitch Marner in check. What is the key to making those players uncomfortable and disrupting what they want to do on the ice?

Maurice: There are two parts to that question.

The first time they came in here, they had six guys out of their lineup. There is no value in that. It wasn’t their team. A version of that happened with us toward the end; we had some key guys out. The regular season doesn’t tell you anything.

The key is that you are not shutting anybody down. I got asked last series about shutting down Nikita Kucherov, and I think he had four points in five games. They just happened to be assists, so we were “shutting him down.” He had four points. We weren’t getting anywhere near him. You’re not.

The greatness of these players at the top end of the league, and they have top-end players in this league… We’re not fools. We have a plan. Everybody has a plan for Sam Reinhart’s 57 goals last year, except he ended up with 57 goals, or Kucherov’s league-leading year. You are not stopping him.

We are not stopping Matthews or these guys. They have just proven over their career that they will generate. It is the volume. How much do you give? How much do they create?

At the end, you would say that is the point. They are all going to generate offense. The question of whether you are successful or not is how much you give them on top of that. How many power plays do you give them? How is your discipline? How much chance trading do you do in a game?

They are getting theirs — they always have and always will — but how much you feed them on top of that is probably the deciding factor.

There was the hatred talked about in the first round, and then there was the handshake at the end of the series. You’ve been through a lot of playoff series. Why is that handshake moment so important to the sport?

Maurice: Because it was true. That was a nasty series. It was exactly like the second Boston series. It went from being heavy to being nasty. I understand why those hits were talked about, but it was actually the other stuff. In Game 2, there could have been 30 penalties called. It was behind-the-scenes ugly.

Here is a little bit of my complaint: I don’t think the coaches should shake hands with the players. I don’t know where it changed — probably in the last 10 years — but the coaches would come off the bench, shake hands, and then they’d leave. Somewhere, some coach wanted to get on camera, so he went down and got in the line. Now, if you don’t, you’ll get roasted for being disrespectful. You have to shake a bunch of sweaty dudes’ hands. But you wear a suit to the game.

For those guys, the battle is real — the intensity and meanness. You have two guys crossing paths who have tried to harm each other for somewhere between four and seven games. And the handshake is legitimate and real.

It is part of the great story of our game that they can do that. The quality of the comments from the Lightning players — especially their leaders — showed a great amount of integrity. It is almost a lesson for me. That was really good. I was really impressed by the things they said in that line.

You’d rather just shake the other coaches’ hands?

Maurice: That is the way it should be. The coaches wear suits. You’ll never hear me say, “Yeah, we are going to get that guy.” I am wearing a suit. There is nothing I am going to say that I will ever have to answer for from a player.

I am not going to change it now. It would be viewed as completely disrespectful if you didn’t do it.

Stay with your own kind, the guys in suits. The guys in tracksuits can do their thing, and the guys in suits. Between the players, that is special to me. That should be just the players.

Do you enjoy it, though?

Maurice: No, for that reason. One player in the line could easily say, “What are you doing here?” I’d say, “You’re right. I have no business being here, but I have to.” That is how I feel about it.

We have seen players have moments with coaches, though, too, right?

Maurice: That part is right and real. With ex-players, you would make comments about how much you have enjoyed watching them play over the years. Those would be true. That can happen in the hallway after.

I don’t think the cameras should be on the coaches. It should be on the players. They are the guys who win, lose, suffer, go through pain, fight for their teammates, and take hits. They do the real work.

We just drink coffee and swear. That is basically what I do for a living.

Was Matthew Tkachuk just taking it a little lighter with the separate skate from the main group?

Maurice: He actually did more today than practicing with us. He was doing some strength and conditioning stuff, and we can’t do all of it in one day. That’s what he did, and then he got out with the special teams.

How much does the extra time, after winning the first series in five games, help Tkachuk get closer to 100%? How much would it help to have all three of your top lines playing the minutes they ideally should play in the upcoming series?

Maurice: It would be critical for any team to have their best players available. In the last two games, I didn’t monitor anything Matthew did; maybe even the last three games. Really, the first two games of the series were the only times I was a little bit careful with the minutes. I really don’t think about it behind the bench now.

Having everybody healthy is highly unusual and not to be expected. We just kind of roll with it.

Why does your team seem to enjoy Game 1 on the road? What makes this group comfortable in those situations?

Maurice: Especially as you move on in the playoffs, it is nice to get the team together with far fewer distractions. The market of Toronto changes that a little bit. There is just so much exposure. But as this goes on, you have more family coming in, and there are more distractions.

You do those things during the regular season — the team-bonding trip, or you add some things — but they’re almost contrived. This isn’t. You are singularly focused on what you are doing. You get everybody together. They spend more time together, so it keeps their minds right.

We have never been a heavy match team. You see that more with a team that has a defined checking line. There is an advantage at home that you lose on the road, so there would be a disparity. It does change the way you run your bench and the roles. For us, what we do at home is pretty darn close to what we do on the road. There is not much change for us.

What can you say about Evan Rodrigues’ ability to move up and down the lineup? Wherever you need him, it seems like he can mold his game to it.

Maurice: It is an incredible value, but for it to work as well as it does, the players he plays with have to believe it would work. You are not taking a player who is necessarily the weak link and saddling him with two guys.

In the final last year, I believe he was our leading point producer along with Matthew and Sam. He has also spent time with Barkov and Reinhart, and they have had great success with it. He has been over on the right side with Lundell and Luostarinen. That has really gotten their line going at times.

The biggest thing for me is the way he has handled playing on the fourth line. In some ways, it has been great for him. It really frees his game up. It gets him back to just the basics of the game. It is kind of a great reset for him, but that is only true because of his team character.

Those guys on the fourth line feel that he loves playing there with them. He is not sitting at the end of the bench, pouting because he is on the fourth line. What does that do to the other two guys? “Oh, he really doesn’t want to play with us. He is sour because he is not playing in the top nine.” He gives nothing of that. He gives the opposite.

The players who play with him have this experience of success. That is why he is so valuable.

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