Maurice Expects Response From Winnipeg Fans After Panthers Crowd Calls Jets “Overrated”

Florida Panthers coach could not help but wince at the idea of Florida fans poking the bear with “overrated” chants at a 15-2-0 Jets team. After all, he knows how passionate Winnipeg’s fans are.

FORT LAUDERDALE — Florida Panthers coach Paul Maurice knows how unruly the hockey fans are in Winnipeg.

And his team’s fans may have poked that bear a bit on Saturday during the team’s 5-0 win against the Jets on Saturday night.

Florida fans belted the NHL-leading Jets with “overrated” chants while lambasting that “Bobby’s Better” than the likely Vezina Trophy favorite, Connor Hellebuyck.

Winnipeg’s fanbase will probably not let that slide when the Panthers head up to their house for the second half of a home-and-home set on Tuesday.

“Ouch,” coach Maurice said, when the idea of a 15-2-0 team that he once coached being called ‘overrated’ was brought up.

“We are getting something back, I can guarantee you that. And it’s probably deserved.”

After coaching the Jets for nine seasons, he knows all too well about how passionate those fans are.

Just recently this year, Winnipeg fans chanted “U.S. backup” at Dallas Stars goalie Jake Oettinger when his squad was trailing 4-0 to their Jets and fellow American goaltender Hellebuyck.

There have been countless other similar incidents.

It comes with the territory for a passionate Winnipeg fanbase that saw its team get ripped away from the city in the 1990s before its eventual return in the 2010s, and they have been bringing it ever since.

“It’s all the people,” Maurice said, when asked about what makes Winnipeg such a special hockey town. “It’s the connection to the sport and the game, and having had really good teams in the NHL and the WHA, and some really important players have come through there too, so there’s a bond there.

“It probably has to lead the league in outdoor rinks, I would think. It’s that connected to the game. And then to have a team, lose a team and then get their team back, there’s an understanding of how special it is to have an NHL team in your town. There is a connection to the game that I think is cultural, but it’s also geographic. A lot of people spend a lot of time playing hockey up there, and I’m pretty sure you can build a rink every year.”

Maurice had experience coaching against the old Jets before becoming one of the first coaches of the newly-reincarnated Winnipeg squad when they moved from Atlanta in 2010.

In his time there, he has gotten to meet people who have watched both iterations and the symbolism of getting that team name back along with the team itself was just as important to that city.

“I think you meet a lot of people up there that remember those games that went to those games,” Maurice said.

“My first year [coaching in the NHL], we played in the Target Center with a big picture of the Queen [of England] at the end. There are a lot of people who have. It’s generational, right? The grandfather went to the games and now the great grandson’s going to the games, so that connection was pretty important. It’s just a great story of the roots of hockey in Canada.”

Maurice has been gracious of his time in Winnipeg since stepping away from the team in 2022 when he felt the team needed a new voice.

He has continued to back those feelings up since winning the Stanley Cup with Florida — saying that he hopes the Jets win one next and that he is a Winnipeg fan on his off nights — and those Jets fans may very well appreciate that.

When he walks into the Canada Life Centre for the first time as a Champion, though, Maurice hopes that the spotlight isn’t totally on him.

“I don’t know,” Maurice said. “Maybe you’re just humbled and you’d kind of like to do it quietly if you could. It’s different. The third time you’re going back now, I’m excited to see my daughter. So, that’s what I’m looking forward to on this trip.”