Why did Paul Maurice leave the Jets? Panthers coach had simple reason for stepping away in Winnipeg

Paul Maurice's first year with the Panthers has a chance to end with his first Stanley Cup. 

The longtime NHL head coach has led Florida on a Cinderella run in the 2023 NHL playoffs. After entering the postseason with the lowest record, the Panthers came back from down 3-1 against the record-setting Bruins in the first round, knocked off the Maple Leafs in five games and swept the Hurricanes in the conference finals to get the club its second Stanley Cup Final appearance and first since 1996. 

Last season, Florida elected not to bring back Jack Adams finalist Andrew Brunette after the team was swept in the second round of the playoffs. Despite earning the Presidents' Trophy for the best record in the league, the front office did not feel as though the interim head coach had the team ready to win in the postseason. 

It left an opening last summer on the Florida bench, one that eventually was filled by Maurice. However, it is likely that he never would have been available if he did not do the very rare thing and step down as head coach of the Jets. 

MORE: Golden Knights vs. Panthers Stanley Cup Final preview for 2023 NHL playoffs

The Sporting News explains more about why Maurice left the job in Winnipeg. 

Why did Paul Maurice leave the Jets? 

In December of the 2021-22 season, the Jets unexpectedly announced that Maurice was stepping down from his position as head coach. 

Maurice said that he felt the team needed to hear a new message and that while the club was capable of turning around a poor start, he felt he was not the man to do so. 

"If you'll allow me some arrogance, I feel I'm better positioned than anyone to know that they need a new voice," Maurice said. "They haven't quit on me. But they need somebody that can get them to that next place."

While the decision reportedly stunned members of the team, it was not a spur-of-the-moment choice. Maurice and Winnipeg general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff had gone back and forth for a few weeks before Maurice stepped down. 

"A lot of the conversations that Paul and I have had over the last weeks, months, but weeks really, is about getting it to that next level and what it's going to take and can we get there?" Cheveldayoff said. "You are limited in a lot of things that you can do in this game, so again, as we continued to talk, I think that in his mind he felt that he certainly wasn't going to be able to get us to that next level.

Maurice had another year on his contract with the team before he left the role. He ended his time in Winnipeg with a record of 315-223-62 in 600 games. His tenure spanned over nine seasons with the Jets. 

Paul Maurice coaching record

Maurice has an extensive coaching resume. The Panthers head coach is one of just five coaches to coach over 1,700 games and is one of only six coaches to win over 800 games. 

The first head coaching job Maurice got in the NHL came in the mid-90s when he was promoted to head coach of the Hartford Whalers during the 1995-96 season. He continued as coach of the franchise when it relocated to Carolina and was renamed the Hurricanes.

In the 2003-04 season, Maurice was fired after a poor start. The next season, he was hired as head coach of the AHL's Toronto Marlies but was promoted a year later to the NHL level. He spent two seasons with the Maple Leafs before he was fired. 

Maurice rejoined the Hurricanes in 2008, spending parts of four seasons in Carolina before he was fired in 2011. He spent a year in Russia coaching in the KHL before taking the job with the Jets in 2013.