Prior to the start of the Stanley Cup Final, longtime Winnipeg Jets head coach and current bench boss of the Florida Panthers, Paul Maurice opened up on his thoughts for his former club.
After making the bold statement to which he indicated his hopes that the Jets would win the 2025 Stanley Cup, Maurice doubled down on his claim, suggesting that the team is close to the top.
“Yeah, getting rid of your last coach was the right thing to do, won the Presidents’ Trophy,” Maurice laughed when asked what he thought Winnipeg needed to do to get to the Stanley Cup.
“I cheer for three teams, basically,” he added. “I cheer for the Vancouver Canucks because of Jim Rutherford. I cheer for the Winnipeg Jets, because, well, because of Winnipeg. And I was cheering for the Dallas Stars for Pete DeBoer.”
Earlier, the NHL released footage from an interview between lifelong friends Maurice and DeBoer in advance of the third round, to which the video indicated their love for one another.
But Maurice also continued in his answer to the question about the Jets, indicating his deeper connection to the people and the city of Winnipeg.
“If you’re good at it, you put everything into this and you’re not cheering for the other team, you’re cheering for your own team. But if you’re going to lose, I’d want to lose to one of those three groups. That’s kind of the idea. Now, my cheering for the team hasn’t really done them much good, it seems. But they’re just the right story in Winnipeg for the National Hockey League and what’s right about the game.
“We saw it in the connection with what Mark Scheifele did to play in that game, the connection to his brothers, but that’s not just a one-off, that starts at the top of that organization. And it fits very well with the fanbase there. They won the presidents’ trophy. I think the Florida Panthers did that a couple years before they got to the Final, so I think they’re right there.”
Maurice’s Panthers trail the Edmonton Oilers 1-0 in the best-of-seven Stanley Cup Final. Game 2 is set to be played on Friday.
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