SUNRISE, Fla. – Florida Panthers Head Coach Paul Maurice is serving in his 2,000th regular season NHL game tonight at Amerant Bank Arena vs. the Seattle Kraken, joining Hockey Hall of Famer Scotty Bowman (2,141 games) as just the second head coach in NHL history to reach the milestone.
The Sault St. Marie, Ontario native entered tonight’s game vs. Seattle with 950 career wins, the third most in NHL history and second most among active head coaches. He is in his 28th NHL season, behind only Bowman (30) for the most seasons as head coach in league history. Maurice is of three coaches ever to earn at least 175 wins with three different franchises, joining Bowman and Darryl Sutter.
Maurice, 59, served as head coach for the first time on Nov. 7, 1995, when his Hartford Whalers defeated the San Jose Sharks 7-3. He was 28 years, 281 days old at the time, making him the youngest head coach since Gary Green on Nov. 15, 1979, who was 26 years, 84 days old. Maurice is the fifth-youngest head coach at the time of their first game in NHL history, and he was the youngest coach in NHL history to reach the 500, 1,000 and 1,500 games coached marks.
Maurice owns a 175-119-21 regular season record since becoming head coach of the Panthers prior to the 2022-23 season. In his time with Florida, Maurice’s Panthers have logged the second most shots on goal per game of any team (32.8) while allowing the seventh fewest on average (28.1). Florida’s 8,266 hits during Maurice’s tenure lead all clubs in that span.
In the Stanley Cup Playoffs, the Panthers own a league-best 45-23 record under Maurice. Winning the Stanley Cup in each of the past two seasons, Maurice is just the fifth head coach in NHL history to win at least two Stanley Cups through their first three seasons with a team.
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