Paul Maurice and Bill Zito, Florida Panthers: 2024 Stanley Cup Media Day

Paul Maurice and Bill Zito, Florida Panthers: 2024 Stanley Cup Media Day

Bill back here um you look at you look at how your team’s been built uh just over these last couple years since you’ve been here obviously unique ways whether it’s wavers the draft trades for agency just what can you say about the work that your team went into building this team yeah the uh it’s it’s kind of two levels of it um where look there’s the Excellence in the evalu the evaluation in that process and then there’s the the personality in the buyin of the of the scouts where debate they argue they they come to a decision and then they support it and some of the guys who who may not even support it in the moment will get in and support it to the end and it it makes for a real healthy um it’s just an outstanding staff left side third row Paul when when take me back to when you stepped away in Winnipeg and and maybe thought that might be the last coaching job for you how were you at that point at at that point at peace with maybe not winning a championship winning the Stanley C and kind of what went through your mind about that at the time well I’m not at peace with not winning I’m at peace in my life at that point able to separate the two things um I had four phenomenal days of fishing this is absolute truth my phone rings and it’s a number I don’t know so I never answer that and then I get a text from somebody says answer your phone go and you got on the phone and and it starts there and it starts with just a conversation and it’s not even really about the job it’s just the interest level I have had and I was I was good and we start talking hockey and that was it right and it’s the connection between two people that you feel it or you don’t I I was good right it was uh that given all that I thought I had to give certainly been fortunate in the game and received far more than I gave but there’s just these strange little things that me Florida was right was where I was supposed to be next front left Pier Bill uh do you regret Hing Paul no I’m just kidding give it a week we’ll find out I want to hug him uh no I was wondering if you could U talk about your GM counterpart in this series Ken Holland who uh you know has been a someone who’s helped couns a lot of young GMS over the years and and someone who’s very approachable and someone who’s been you know heavily scrutinizing the Inon market and trying to get that team over the hump any any thoughts on Ken yeah I mean nothing but complete admiration and respect for both him as a hockey man and as a as a person and even when I was an agent you could go and visit Kenny and talk hockey and he’d help and give you guidance and talk about players uh uh I had the opportunity to to do some USA Hockey things at the world championship and he was there with advice and uh just uh nothing but sincere uh admiration and appreciation and I I know I’m not alone I know all the people in hockey that he’s helped and uh wonderful wonderful guy left side third R Paul the it came out this week that your your media relations staff won an award from the phwa and when you’re trying to be a championship contending group every year fancy product on nice fancy coaching fancy that stuff how important is the rest of the people in an organization that never get talked about everybody has a piece here I’ve mentioned that before and it’s part of the culture the bill is built so I would look at adline as a key piece to what we do there’s challenges in every Market certainly spent time up north and understand the challenges in the northern market with the volume but there’s also great challenges in a market where you’re trying to drive that volume you’re trying to get people to come the balance of how do I not even protect the players but how do I give the players a normal experience with the media terms we’re not farming them out to the malls to sign autographs every day and doing them every single interview at the same time we need to derive access to our team we need people to come it’s an incredible Balancing Act to watch her work I just do whatever she tells me to do I’m not trying to be funny you work with her for a while you will come to completely trust me and she’ll have the list you need to do this this this and this we can talk about that one that going go next week now you don’t really need to do that one yes I just say yes daddy she’s brilliant to work with left side second row my question is for Bill uh coming off of you know last year reaching the final for the first time in 25 plus years um what was your mindset when it came to looking to improve the team um what areas did you identify and I guess what was your mindset coming into this year about how you felt about how you improve the team well it was it was sort of identifying the goals was easy right because we had some significant injuries to some of the defense and we knew we had to answer that and we wanted to um maybe try to add some players in other areas and a lot of it is a function of who’s available and who wants to come as well um so that really was our our our Focus was this we have to find some D and we were uh we were fortunate that we had the right guys who wanted to come and they fit in and they they came at numbers that would fit within our cap and uh it was it was was also I think uh quite beneficial that the coaching staff bought in right away and and gave them the opportunity to succeed front left bill this is for you uh going back to when you acquired Matthew kachuck is this what you envisioned in terms of of what he can do kind of putting you over the top and and where you guys are today yeah I mean if you if you watch Matthew kachuck play hockey and then you watched our team it it wasn’t great leap to think that this is a pretty significant asset that can come in and and he brings that energy and enthusiasm and I think he was 24 at the time he’s a younger player still coming into his Prime and uh and he’s a big moment guy and yeah so I can’t tell you that yeah I’m going to be sitting here today but that’s the goal back right uh this one is for Paul I will ask you to go back in your memory for a while it’s a two-part question uh when you first joined NHL you know in Carolina I think it was in Greensboro not even in Raleigh Harford um I’ll go I’ll go even further back yeah so what what changed the most the coach in you the person in you in that time when you came in and now and sometimes we say that uh a great player doesn’t need to standle cup to be considered a great player you feel that it’s the same for a coach or as a coach you feel that you really get to get the cup to be over your head to make sure that you uh your tribute will be recognized by everybody I’ll do the second part first everybody’s different every coach is different and it seems to me as you age you get a different perspective on life and what’s important and valuable I need to win one no it’s not going to change it’s not going to change the section of my life that’s not related to hockey at all um yeah that’s the truth that’s how I feel remember 30 years into this thing wouldn’t mind winning one how about that yeah I mean yeah when it’s over cuz I thought it was um you get to a I don’t even want to say peaceful I use the word peaceful I’m not sure I ever got to Peaceful but I understand what it feels like to feel like it’s over and you didn’t win didn’t win I’ve got I know coaches feel the opposite at all maybe it’s a function of I think I carry the losses and that goes back to starting very very young so I’m going to know when this thing’s all over either how good I got or how good I was and I I won’t need somebody else to tell me that or to value my career I’m not saying I’m going to Value it really high I’m not telling you where I’m Valu it I have a pretty good idea of the job I’ve done when it’s over yeah I really like to win one man uh the other question is all things have changed completely and I think the vast majority of them for the better this game is way better than it was when I came in and this is not to be disrespectful of the Champions before in my experience I get in around 95 you know I hear that I don’t maybe hear over the last couple years but that idea players don’t respect each other anymore like the opposite is true when they used to hang over the bench and say I’m going to kill you they meant it like that was literal these guys take care of each other they treat each other better and I’m not specifically excluding the other teams I’m including winipeg my experience in this league the men are better they treat each other better they treat the support staff differently it’s all better since 2006 this game is way better than it was you can have an 18-year-old kid like the one in Edmonton and now the one in Chicago come in and be dynamic you’ll remember Pat Burns’s comment when Joe Thorton was playing on the Flor North Line saying he’s too small he’s got to put on another 20 lb well he was probably about 200 lb at the time like it’s way better now and I enjoy that more I enjoy the the had good men don’t get me wrong but I enjoy the people in the game far more now because I think they’re far better people but I was as big as an ass as they were so I’m not saying that I was just a really good guy and they weren’t I was right in there we’re going to keep taking questions but players are starting to make their way to the pause upstairs on the left side um Michael uh Paul the you know obviously Edmonton has two unbelievable top lines led by two unbelievable centers borov can’t play against everybody um you you think yeah yeah exactly um but you know on that note without giving away trade SEC secrets on matchups and things like that how confident are you that you know if it’s Bennett’s line on Del’s line whoever you put out there are going to be able to check those guys can’t tell you the number of times this year that you’ve gone in to a building with a dominant matchup a dominant line that you were matching especially on the road and you’re going ah I don’t like that match right like I I got to get I got to get barkov on point where I’m in real trouble he got Celli on barkov and I don’t like that and Ben line just was phenomenal so I I fortunately I was slow enough to not change it right I I couldn’t get to what I wanted to we all have a match and we have an idea going into the game and those are good ideas because youve watched this is true of Edmonton you’ve watched your team play for years and they’ve we know what barkov is we know what McDavid is but that Puck’s going to drop and it’s not always what you think so you make your adjustments and just go and it last really truly hard match coach was probably Randy carile and I I don’t think you see it as hard as he used to he the D matches but even then everybody can skate

Florida Panthers coach Paul Maurice and GM Bill Zito speak before their team plays host to the 2024 Stanley Cup Final in Sunrise on Friday, June 7.

Maurice and Zito spoke at the Cup Media Day.

The Panthers will play in the Stanley Cup Final for a second straight year; Edmonton is vying for its sixth title and first since 1990. This is the Oilers’ first trip to the Final since 2006.

Game 1 is Saturday in Sunrise at 8 p.m. (ABC).

Florida Panthers Remember The Sting: https://floridahockeynow.com/florida-panthers-remember-the-sting-of-losing-stanley-cup-final/

Stanley Cup or Bust! Florida Panthers Moving On: https://floridahockeynow.com/stanley-cup-final-florida-panthers-2-new-york-rangers-1-game-6/

Meet the Edmonton Oilers: https://floridahockeynow.com/what-to-know-edmonton-oilers-stanley-cup-final-florida-panthers/

Panthers Have Unfinished Business to Take Care Of: https://floridahockeynow.com/not-finished-florida-panthers-hungry-to-complete-redemption-tour/

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Florida took out the New York Rangers in 6; Edmonton did the same to Dallas.

On Saturday, the Panthers beat the Rangers 2-1.

Florida took a 2-0 lead on goals from Sam Bennett and Vladimir Tarasenko.

Artemi Panarin beat old friend Sergei Bobrovsky (23 saves) to make it a 1-goal lead but the Panthers hung on.

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