2010 Inductee

PAUL MAURICE – Coach

History and Accomplishments:

Paul Maurice was inducted in the Sault Ste. Marie Hockey Hall of Fame in 2010 in the Coach category.

Maurice was the Philadelphia Flyers' 12th choice, 252nd overall, in the 1985 NHL Entry Draft.

In 1985, Paul played defense for the Windsor Spitfires of the OHL. He was struck in the eye by a puck, which had ricocheted off his stick, during a charity hockey game in which he was participating. When goalie Pat Jablonski was sent down by the St. Louis Blues, the Windsor Spitfires were therefore in excess number of players. At this point he was given the option by team owner Peter Karmanos to be traded or step behind the bench. He thus began his coaching career with the Detroit Junior Red Wings (a team Karmanos operated) of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) from 1993 to 1995, leading the team to the J. Ross Robertson Cup and a second place finish in Memorial Cup in 1995.

After Peter Karmanos purchased the Hartford Whalers, Maurice followed Karmanos to coach the Whalers (later the Carolina Hurricanes) of the NHL in 1995, at the remarkably young age of 28. Throughout much of his tenure, he was the youngest active coach in the NHL. The high point of his NHL career came in the 2001–02 NHL season, when the Hurricanes reached the Stanley Cup finals, losing to the Detroit Red Wings. Under Maurice the Hurricanes achieved three winning seasons from 1998–2002.

On June 24, 2005, he was hired to coach the Toronto Marlies, after the team had relocated from St. John's, Newfoundland. In the 2005–06 season, the Marlies qualified for fourth playoff spot in their division.

Maurice reached several coaching milestones during his first season with the Toronto Maple Leafs, registering a career-high in wins (40) and points percentage (.555). He also earned his 300th NHL victory March 6, 2007 versus Washington and coached his 750th NHL game March 27, 2007 versus Carolina.

On December 3, 2008, Maurice was re-hired by the Hurricanes, selected to take over for Peter Laviolette as head coach of the Carolina Hurricanes.

On November 28, 2010, at age 43, Maurice became the youngest person to reach 1,000 NHL games coached.