It was a Monday night that left Denis and Dolores Maurice speechless.
At 85 and 83 years old respectively, the east-end couple finally got to witness their son Paul hoist the Stanley Cup with the Florida Panthers for the first time in his prolific head coaching career in the NHL.
Like millions around Canada, the proud parents watched that intense game seven from their living room — inside the same house where Paul grew up — hoping it would finally be their son’s time.
And it was.
“It’s been a real surprise — a shock,” Dolores told SooToday. “To think he went all that way.”
“It’s amazing,” Denis added. “You know that going seven is not healthy — it’s a toss-up really. So many variables come into play. It’s a hard grind for both.”
Locals who watched the post-game celebrations have been talking about Maurice's classy interview with Sportsnet, in which he specifically mentioned his family in the Sault and southern Ontario who “suffered through 30 years of losing and making excuses.”
"Dad, your name is going up with your heroes," he said on national television. "Beliveau, Richard, Howe, Lindsay, Maurice."
It was in that moment things began to sink in for Denis, a lifelong hockey fan who idolized those players.
“I never thought of that until he mentioned it,” he said. “It was always an outlet for our sons Paul, Shane, and Michael to play hockey. I always believed all my kids could do well.”
The Maurice brothers grew up during a time where virtually every boy in Sault Ste. Marie was playing hockey.
But before Paul was given a hockey stick, his parents had to make sure he could skate.
“Paul’s first experiences were wearing hockey skates, but in a less-than hockey situation,” Denis explained. “He was in figure skating for just about a year — pre-kindergarten. We were trying to get him to learn how to skate.”
Once he got the skating down, Maurice quickly fell in love with hockey — and he had no shortage of local influence.
Just across the street from their Shannon Road home, the tennis courts at Snowdon Park were a popular spot for street hockey.
A pair of Soo Greyhounds players by the names of Wayne Gretzky and Paul Coffey would even venture there from time to time.
Although he would compete in the OHL and sneak into the NHL Draft as the last pick in 1985, Maurice’s playing days eventually ended.
But as his younger brother Shane explained to SooToday, it was the countless connections a young Maurice made with his teammates and coaches that prepared him for a long-standing career behind the bench.
“There’s a whole bunch of people who still live in Sault Ste. Marie that were all part of those formative years of hockey with him,” Shane said. “One of his bantam coaches was Mike Zuke, and that guy had a full NHL-sized rink in his yard, and anyone from Bayview and around was welcome to go there.”
“Kyle Dubas’ grandfather Walter had a lot of influence on him too,” he added. “The community really does support itself.”
It took Maurice 1,985 games as an NHL head coach — including four different franchises and three firings — to get him to the ultimate prize on Monday.
His brother Shane noted that it’s common for sports broadcasters to talk about the winning team’s ups and downs throughout the Stanley Cup playoffs.
But the adversity Maurice faced was by no means limited to just one series against the Edmonton Oilers, or one postseason run.
“I looked at my dad Monday night and said this isn’t about a two-month journey — this is a 29-year journey,” Shane said. “The trials and tribulations have been there for that whole 29 years.”
And that was epitomized in this year’s quest for the Cup.
Shane actually stopped watching Florida’s playoff run with their parents after a game in round one was going sour for his older brother’s side.
“I stayed for the beginning of a game against the Lightning, and it was 2-0 for Tampa in short order,” he recalled. “So, I left the house, and we never shared a couch for the game again in the playoffs.”
“As Michael Scott from The Office would say, ‘I’m not superstitious, just a little stitious’” he laughed.
Maurice would lead the Panthers to series victories against Tampa Bay, the Boston Bruins, and the New York Rangers en route to a second straight Stanley Cup Final appearance.
Up three games to none against the Oilers, the Maurices were planning to celebrate.
“In game four, I told my dad to make sure you keep mom awake, because if they win, I’m going to bring the family over right away,” Shane said.
The Panthers were blown out 8-1 that night.
Before game five, Shane called his dad again to remind him of the family’s intentions to come celebrate the victory after the game.
The Panthers lost — again.
Understandably, the phone calls stopped. They are “a little stitious” after all.
Once the Oilers forced a winner-take-all seventh game, Shane admitted he wasn’t dealing with the stress too well.
“You hear all the professional athletes talking about how they don’t look at social media or anything like that,” he said. “It turns out, a lot of their family does. I stayed away from everything online game five and on. It’s hard to read.”
“Paul said one time that it’s a lot harder for the family because we have no influence over it,” he added. “Paul would say, ‘I have control over the scenario, so I’m in the moment. My time goes by quickly because we’re working towards the next point.’ Whereas for ourselves, we go to work and do our day-to-day things. We don’t have that break away from the impending.”
But then, a tight 2-1 game seven victory on Monday night made that agonizing wait worth it.
“Once the final buzzer went, my wife and my two kids and I got over to my parents as quickly as possible,” Shane said. “My dad goes: ‘You didn’t call, I understood why. I knew you’d be right over at the end if they won.’ It was awesome to be there and see my parents’ expression.”
“It’s like everything else in life, it’s not how you start — it’s how you finish,” Denis added.
Minutes after the Cup was presented to Florida, the phone rang at the Maurice household.
It was Paul, calling from the ice and wanting to chat with his two idols.
“That was the one dream I always had, was to win the Stanley Cup and call your mom and dad,” Maurice told reporters with the NHL Network. “My mom answered the phone. I got to talk to mom and dad tonight as a Stanley Cup champion. Like that’s pretty good, right? Mom and dad are pretty happy.”
“I was there for the call and my mom’s response to him was: ‘You’re on the ice right now, what are you doing calling me? There’s people you need to be talking to over there.’ It was something else,” Shane said.
With the potential for the Cup to make a second straight appearance in town from two different organizations, the Maurices noted that would be no coincidence.
“It speaks to community and the people,” Shane said. “The reason that Paul would make that comment about Sault Ste. Marie is because of the impact Sault Ste. Marie has on all of us. You talk to any friend that’s left town, they all talk about how they wish they could have stayed and raised their kids there. There is a draw here.”
“Hockey for Sault Ste. Marie is an important process — it’s part of the growing up,” Denis added. “It’s a pastime where you get to meet people who are going to become friends or acquaintances for the rest of your life.”
It’s no secret the community at large has left a significant impression on Maurice’s successes. But Shane noted that his parents, who are both retired teachers, also deserve a ton of credit.
“It's Paul's ability to communicate with the players,” he said. “And I think that communication starts with how you’re brought up. And that’s where he learned his ability to curse.”
“From his mother, of course,” Denis laughed.
While it’s yet to be confirmed if Maurice will bring the Cup back to the Sault, his younger brother hasn’t counted it out as a possibility.
“He’ll most likely find a way to make it convenient for my parents to be there with it,” Shane said. “I don’t know what that format will look like. He very well may bring it to Sault Ste. Marie for my parents’ benefit.”
