Leafs_Fa_Life
6-23-05, 8:49 PM
Toronto ? Paul Maurice, who took the underdog Carolina Hurricanes to the 2002 Stanley Cup final, is the new head coach of the Toronto Marlies, the farm team of the Toronto Maple Leafs.
The Maple Leafs will introduce Maurice at a press conference today at the Air Canada Centre, according to a National Hockey League source. Maurice is replacing Doug Shedden, whose contract was not renewed following the 2004-05 American Hockey League season.
Toronto general manager John Ferguson and Richard Peddie, president of Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment Ltd., which owns the team, refused to confirm or deny Maurice's hiring.
Maurice, who was thought to be travelling to Toronto for today's press conference, could not be reached for comment.
Landing the 38-year-old Maurice is a tremendous coup for Ferguson and the Maple Leafs, as he is considered one of the brightest young coaches in hockey. He has a lot of NHL experience for his age, coaching 674 games for the Hurricanes after he was hired at 28 in November of 1995.
Hurricanes president and GM Jim Rutherford, who reluctantly fired Maurice on Dec. 15, 2003, when his team could not pull itself out of a losing skid, knew he would regret it.
?Somebody is going to get a great head coach when they need one, whether it's this year or next,? Rutherford told globeandmail.com hockey columnist Eric Duhatschek at the time.
Maurice is known as a smart, well-organized coach whose sense of humour and wit makes him a media favourite. The Hurricanes were never among the most talented teams in the NHL, which was the eventual cause of his downfall, but Maurice's preparation made them a threat in every game.
After finishing first in the Southeast Division with a 35-26-16-5 record in 2001-02, the Hurricanes reached the Stanley Cup final after they upset the heavily favoured New Jersey Devils in the first round and then knocked off the Montreal Canadiens.
They beat the Maple Leafs in six games in the Eastern Conference final, but ran out of gas against the Detroit Red Wings in the Stanley Cup and lost in five games.
The Hurricanes came back to earth the following season and missed the 2003 playoffs. When Maurice could not coax more offence out of a limited roster of scorers and attendance plummeted, he was fired.
Maurice, a native of Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., jumped to the Hurricanes after just two seasons as a head coach in the Ontario Hockey League. He directed the former Detroit Junior Red Wings, a team owned by Hurricanes owner Peter Karmanos, to an 86-38-12 record in those two seasons.
Since then, Maurice has worked in television, most recently for Rogers Sportsnet.
Rutherford and Karmanos thought so highly of Maurice that he had a standing offer of a player-personnel job with the Hurricanes if he could not find a suitable coaching job.
Link (http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20050623.marlies24/BNStory/Sports/)
Good move by the Leafs :thumb: When Quinn's done in Toronto maybe he'll be our next head coach.
The Maple Leafs will introduce Maurice at a press conference today at the Air Canada Centre, according to a National Hockey League source. Maurice is replacing Doug Shedden, whose contract was not renewed following the 2004-05 American Hockey League season.
Toronto general manager John Ferguson and Richard Peddie, president of Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment Ltd., which owns the team, refused to confirm or deny Maurice's hiring.
Maurice, who was thought to be travelling to Toronto for today's press conference, could not be reached for comment.
Landing the 38-year-old Maurice is a tremendous coup for Ferguson and the Maple Leafs, as he is considered one of the brightest young coaches in hockey. He has a lot of NHL experience for his age, coaching 674 games for the Hurricanes after he was hired at 28 in November of 1995.
Hurricanes president and GM Jim Rutherford, who reluctantly fired Maurice on Dec. 15, 2003, when his team could not pull itself out of a losing skid, knew he would regret it.
?Somebody is going to get a great head coach when they need one, whether it's this year or next,? Rutherford told globeandmail.com hockey columnist Eric Duhatschek at the time.
Maurice is known as a smart, well-organized coach whose sense of humour and wit makes him a media favourite. The Hurricanes were never among the most talented teams in the NHL, which was the eventual cause of his downfall, but Maurice's preparation made them a threat in every game.
After finishing first in the Southeast Division with a 35-26-16-5 record in 2001-02, the Hurricanes reached the Stanley Cup final after they upset the heavily favoured New Jersey Devils in the first round and then knocked off the Montreal Canadiens.
They beat the Maple Leafs in six games in the Eastern Conference final, but ran out of gas against the Detroit Red Wings in the Stanley Cup and lost in five games.
The Hurricanes came back to earth the following season and missed the 2003 playoffs. When Maurice could not coax more offence out of a limited roster of scorers and attendance plummeted, he was fired.
Maurice, a native of Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., jumped to the Hurricanes after just two seasons as a head coach in the Ontario Hockey League. He directed the former Detroit Junior Red Wings, a team owned by Hurricanes owner Peter Karmanos, to an 86-38-12 record in those two seasons.
Since then, Maurice has worked in television, most recently for Rogers Sportsnet.
Rutherford and Karmanos thought so highly of Maurice that he had a standing offer of a player-personnel job with the Hurricanes if he could not find a suitable coaching job.
Link (http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20050623.marlies24/BNStory/Sports/)
Good move by the Leafs :thumb: When Quinn's done in Toronto maybe he'll be our next head coach.