Is Paul Maurice’s System Working for the Florida Panthers?

As we approach the first quarter mark of the NHL season it’s time to ask, is Paul Maurice’s system working for the Florida Panthers?

Paul Maurice’s New System Brings Mixed Reviews over the Panthers’ Performance

The Florida Panthers have been in a championship window the last few seasons but have yet to see their regular season success translate into the postseason.

After the Panthers were swept by their in-state rivals, Zito had had enough and pulled the trigger on a coaching change and moved on from interim head coach Andrew Brunette.

Despite Brunette being a finalist for the Jack Adams award, Zito felt that experience behind the bench was necessary to get his Panthers club over the hump.

So in comes Paul Maurice, a 24-year veteran of the league.

The veteran bench boss made it known that when he took over the coaching duties the team’s play style would be different. His goal was for his team to adopt a style of play that would seamlessly translate over from the regular season into the playoffs — hard play along the boards and using high-volume offence to generate plays around the net. 

But 19 games into the season, the Panthers have found themselves in unfamiliar territory.

With a loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets Sunday night, the reigning Presidents trophy winners fell below .500 for the first time since the 2019-20 season.

Questions are beginning to mount about whether Maurice and his new system of play really is the best fit for this roster. 

Expectations High with President’s Trophy Win

The 2021-22 Florida Panthers rode to a franchise-best 122-point campaign on the back of the most prolific offence the league had seen in almost 30 years.

The Panthers were a team that scored at will. Opponents struggled to match up against the depth of a roster that boasted three lines that scored like a top line. And it didn’t matter if the Cats got behind in a game. No matter the deficit, no matter the time left on the clock, the Panthers were always in it. 

Their reputation for mounting insurmountable comebacks over and over, got them dubbed the nickname, the Cardiac Cats.

These “Cardiac Cats” tied an NHL record in come-from-behind wins and set a franchise record in wins, points, and goals scored.

Last season’s team was a juggernaut. So when they were swept in the playoffs it seemed like a one-off. A fluke.

Surely it would have made more sense to run it back with the same players and coaches. 

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Going with Experience 

Unfortunately, the salary cap era doesn’t always allow for great teams to run it back. Zito knew there would be a lot of new faces in his lineup the next season and that luxury of scoring depth wouldn’t be the same.

It’s also common knowledge the run-and-gun style of hockey isn’t conducive to winning in the playoffs. Goals are harder to come by and the game really tightens up in every area of the ice.

And that’s what made the prospect of having Paul Maurice lead the Panthers so enticing.

Maurice has made a name for himself in the league by transforming rosters into strong, well-balanced, all-around threats. 

But this Panthers team was arguably the most talented he had ever taken over. And that not only allowed him to bring his trademark style but elevate it with the talent of guys like Aleksander Barkov and Matthew Tkachuk. 

At the start of training camp, Maurice said he wanted an emphasis on a more structured play style while still allowing his players the offensive freedom that made them such a threat last season.

So as we reach the quarter-way mark into the season, let’s compare this season’s team with last season’s.

*Stats are from before the November 23 game against the Boston Bruins

Despite Team Record, This Year’s Panthers are Pacing Well

Both last season’s team and this season’s team are based around generating a high volume of offence.

The largest reason the Panthers were so successful last year was that they generated so many opportunities to score and had the personnel to finish on those chances. 

Now, the rate at which the Panthers are scoring is almost a full goal lower than last season, but that was largely expected. Averaging four goals a game is special and not easily sustainable. 

But averaging 3.32 is still a very respectable number that should have you winning more games than not. Unfortunately, the Panthers are surrendering the same number of goals as they generate, despite not allowing a lot of quality offence from their opponents.

The Panthers generate more offence than their opponents. They also do a good job limiting their opponent’s scoring chances. And at the end of the day, they are still a team that controls the play for the majority of the game.

There isn’t one glaring area of weakness, rather it’s a culmination of little mistakes in the Panthers’ play that is leading to untimely goals.

Small Changes Needed, Not Big Ones

The bigger issue is, when the Panthers make one of these mistakes, they don’t react quickly enough to prevent a scoring chance.

As we saw in the game against Columbus, the Panthers dominated time on attack — a common theme this season. They dictated the pace and had the ice tilted in their favour for the majority of the game. 

But then they’d make a mistake and the Blue Jackets would go down and capitalize on it.

Against the Dallas Stars, we saw much of the same. The Panthers reacted slowly when they made a mistake and the Stars had a heyday getting behind the Panthers’ defence.

Luckily, making adjustments in this part of your game is easy to fix. It comes down to discipline. And Paul Maurice has shown over the years he can get his players to adopt this mindset.

Stay Patient, Change Takes Time

And it’s important to remember that Andrew Brunette took over a Joel Quenneville system that was already established and had the Panthers 7-0 to kick off the season.

Paul Maurice is bringing in a new system for the Panthers and there are growing pains that come with that. The fact that the Panthers are only one game under .500 despite playing in a new system with new faces and facing early-season adversity, is a testament to how good and adaptable this club is. 

Aaron Ekblad, at the start of training camp, described the NHL season as having four different seasons: preseason, games leading up to the Christmas break, games after the break, and then the playoffs.

This pre-Christmas portion of the season is where you find your rhythm and form those good habits. The Panthers are doing just this.  There are still areas of their game to tidy up, but otherwise, the players have done a fine job under Maurice, getting their rhythm and implementing this new system. 

We have already seen a difference in the first half of games played to the last half so far.

One of those improvements is the power play. The Panthers were an abysmal 7% in the first nine games but are firing at 29% in their last 10.

And as the season progresses we can expect other areas of the Panthers game to improve too.

On the Right Path

Since the 2015-16 season, when the Panthers started to be considered a legit Stanley Cup contender, they have just one playoff series win.

It does not matter how much regular season success you have if you can’t replicate it in the playoffs.

The system Maurice is implementing is similar to the ones that have proven successful for this Panthers team. But now, he’s elevating it.

He has seen what works in the playoffs. He’s been there nine times.

It may not always be pretty or flashy. But at the end of the day, you play for the Cup, not the President’s Trophy. 

And the Florida Panthers are learning and executing a system that has been proven successful in the playoffs. 

There is still some tinkering to do but a quarter of the way into the season, the Panthers are a team that is on their way. 

Stay patient and trust in the players and the coaches. Paul Maurice’s system for the Panthers is working.