Paul Maurice, head coach of the Florida Panthers, has experienced roughly 25 playoff handshake lines in his NHL career — four of them during last season’s Stanley Cup run. He has a deep appreciation for the tradition, though he admits there are parts of it he struggles with. After Florida’s intense five-game series win over the Tampa Bay Lightning, which featured suspensions and plenty of animosity, Maurice acknowledged the post-series handshake line was heartfelt.
“That line is real,” he told reporters Saturday in Sunrise, before the Panthers’ series against Toronto. “It was a series that got heavy, then nasty. Game 2 could’ve had 30 penalties. It was ugly behind the scenes.”
Despite the respect he felt from Lightning coach Jon Cooper and his players, the experience also reminded Maurice how out of place he often feels in that setting.
“I don’t think coaches should be in the handshake line,” he said. “Originally, we stayed on the bench. Then one coach probably wanted camera time, went down to the line, and now if you don’t do it, it looks disrespectful. So you go shake some sweaty guy’s hand because you have to.”
Maurice contrasted the role of coaches with that of players, saying, “We wear suits. They go to war out there. Two guys who tried to hurt each other over a week can still shake hands — that’s what makes this game special. But that should be theirs, not ours.”
He said he’d rather step aside quietly, perhaps meet a player away from the cameras, and insists he never talks about targeting opposing players.
“You’ll never hear me say, ‘we’re going to get that guy,’” Maurice said. “I’m not going to avoid the handshake line — that would be seen as total disrespect. But really, we coaches should stick to our own. I wouldn’t blame a player for asking, ‘why are you even here?’ And I’d agree — I don’t belong there. But I have to do it.”
“Let the cameras stay on the players. They’re the ones who put their bodies on the line, suffer, and fight for each other. We just drink coffee and curse.”
