Time really does fly, because the NHL playoffs that started in April have now neared their end. And in just a few days, Paul Maurice and his Florida Panthers will be playing the Edmonton Oilers in the Stanley Cup finals. This year is special because the Panthers, who’ve certainly looked to be the frontrunners this season, are vying for their shot at the franchise’s first consecutive cup victory, a title only 7 other franchises have. Here’s where it gets really interesting: One of those franchises is the Oilers, who won not one but two consecutive titles in the years 1984 & 1985 and 1987 & 1988.
This year both teams won the semifinals in 5 games, but the Panthers are the ones with the 55% chance of winning. It isn’t a huge margin, but it is still something worth noting, especially since they are a team that faced a lot of changes in the lead-up to the playoffs, including injuries, additions, and suspensions. But they’ve managed regardless to perform at a top, if not threatening, level, with 19 of their players scoring a goal in this series and ten of the players having scored at least ten points so far in the playoffs. So there is definitely something to be said for all of the Florida newbies who have managed to come in and keep this team on top.
Paul Maurice himself echoed the sentiments of Matthew Tkachuk when speaking about said newbies like Seth Jones and Brad Marchand in a recent interview before the big final, “We’re not here without those guys…those new guys that came in did bring the energy, and they also, actually, what’s interesting is toward the end they became our identity.” He went on to elaborate on the Panther’s identity, saying, “They were closer to our identity game than the guys that had been here for a couple of years, and they got us back in that Toronto series.” Paul Maurice was presumably referencing game 7, where Seth Jones opened the scoring and Brad Marchand pushed the final score up to 6-1.
NHL, Eishockey Herren, USA Stanley Cup Playoffs-Florida Panthers at Toronto Maple Leafs May 18, 2025 Toronto, Ontario, CAN Florida Panthers forward Brad Marchand 63 talks to the media during the post game media conference following game seven of the second round of the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs against the Toronto Maple Leafs at Scotiabank Arena. Toronto Scotiabank Arena Ontario CAN, EDITORIAL USE ONLY PUBLICATIONxINxGERxSUIxAUTxONLY Copyright: xJohnxE.xSokolowskix 20250518_tbs_ss9_143
Maurice then went on to talk a little bit about how the team works together and towards a common goal, saying, “When you come into our team after Vegas, you’re coming in to help push them over the top, but when you come into our team this summer, you don’t want to screw things up, right? And then it switched; now there’s a lot of that in the room.”
Speaking of the pressure on the newbies to live up to the standards Florida has already set, Maurice added,“They want it bad for those guys because those guys got us here. So there’s been an equitable exchange of effort here. We pushed so hard you’ve earned the right because of what you’ve helped the group do then we want it for you.” With Marchand and Jones fitting in like they’ve been in Florida for years and speaking about it too, it looks like the feeling’s mutual between coach and players.
How Brad Marchand and Seth Jones are feeling about the team, Paul Maurice, and heading into the final
First off, Brad Marchand, who famously had a tough time leaving his longtime team, the Boston Bruins, spoke early on about how Florida’s locker room culture immediately made him feel integrated and a part of things. In addition, he recently spoke about his current playoff outlook, saying, “This is special; you don’t get a lot of opportunities to be part of something like this.”
Though this does mark Marchand’s fourth appearance in the Stanley Cup finals, it is undoubtedly a special one because of how recently he was traded to Florida, just a little over a month before the playoffs began.
Then there’s Seth Jones, who opted out of playing with the Chicago Blackhawks for the Florida Panthers, so there is an underlying assumption that the defenseman is, by default, happy to be here.
In a recent postgame interview, he was asked about working under Paul Maurice, and specifically, how he responded to his style of humor and coaching style, and Jones said, “Yeah, it’s different than what I’ve had. Of course, I think he knows how to really take the temperature of the group and the situation of a group.” Jones added on a bit about Maurice’s nuanced approach, adding, “You know, he can have a meeting where he’s very intense, you know, whether he’s calling guys out or calling the team out, but he’s also very good at throwing a joke in there, you know, throwing a funny clip in there when we’re doing video.”
Again, whatever it is, Bill Zito’s management choices and Paul Maurice’s coaching seem to be doing something great for this franchise!
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