The Florida Panthers are one win away from making a third consecutive Stanley Cup Finals appearance. If head coach Paul Maurice’s locker room speeches are anywhere near as good as his press conferences, we can see why.
Maurice spoke with the media this week as his team aims to complete a sweep of the Carolina Hurricanes in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference finals on Monday night. One reporter asked about the mix of personalities the Panthers have on their team, and Maurice responded with an incredible analogy.
Maurice wanted to explain how seeing a player act one way on the ice and another way off of it does not make that player a phony or a hypocrite. He said it’s kind of the same thing as how a person would never think about slamming a beer while at church.
“Have you ever shotgunned a beer? Have you ever been to church? Would you shotgun a beer in Church? Okay, that doesn’t make you a hypocrite. There’s a context and a place for all things,” Maurice said.
As an example of his own personal experience, Maurice spoke about how he “hated” Matthew Tkachuk when Maurice was the head coach of the Winnipeg Jets. Now that he is the coach of the Panthers, Maurice said he has come to realize that Tkachuk is a “wonderful human being.”
“They’re really, really nice people, and then the puck drops. Sometimes you say a prayer, sometimes you shotgun a beer,” Maurice said. “That’s kind of like our team.”
“Sometimes you say a prayer, sometimes you shotgun a beer. That’s kind of like our team.”
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) May 26, 2025
Paul Maurice has an all-time analogy for the Panthers' personalities. 😆 pic.twitter.com/8lRcWMRRaU
Whatever the Panthers have been doing is working. They are on the verge of their third straight Stanley Cup Finals appearance under Maurice. Florida was tied 1-1 with the Hurricanes heading into the third period of Game 3 and proceeded to put an absolute beatdown on their opponent, turning Carolina into a hilarious meme.
Hopefully we get some more legendary quotes from Maurice if and when the Panthers finish the job.
