Category
🥇
SportsTranscript
00:00Uh, the Panthers, uh, coach Paul Maurice talks here about how both teams got even better since
00:06last year. We don't see each other enough to have a great handle on it. Even though we played it
00:12this time last year, their two elite offensive players are, you know, by an order of magnitude,
00:19more offensively elite than most players in this league. So that makes them different to say that
00:24they just have a really good offensive team. Well, they're an exceptionally special offensive
00:28team with those two players. And then I think both teams just got deeper. They're more experienced.
00:36Both teams got better at what wasn't necessarily their primary thing. They're a real strong offensive
00:42team, but they're a much better defensive team than they were. And we've always been a pretty
00:45strong defensive team. We've got a Selkie award winner in our middle there. Um, and then we like
00:52to think we include our offensive game, especially in the back half of these playoffs. We've seen some
00:56growth and some offense and we spread it around. So we're, we, we have a lot of guys that feel
01:00pretty good about their offensive game right now. So both teams improved in areas of, I would say
01:05weakness, but they had good defensive players and we had good offensive players, but that was the area
01:10that weren't known for. We got better at the things maybe we weren't known for.
01:14You know, I gotta be honest, Joe. Uh, I know, I know Paul, I've known him for a long time. He was
01:20always very cool to me. Uh, knew me in the league, knew me, uh, on, you know, the radio did my show,
01:27blah, blah, blah. I think he's become hugely, uh, famous now because of this, uh, run he's had in
01:34South Florida. Like no one gave a rat's ass about Paul Maurice ever in his entire career. He coached
01:41everywhere and no one cared one lick about him. And then he went down there and they built a special
01:47franchise. I mean, they are really unique and, and you know what they remind me of in a little
01:52sense, to be honest with you is bill Belichick. I think they plug guys in to do jobs, no matter
01:59what it is like last year, they win the cup. So this year, what do they do? They got all these
02:04different guys that are, that were not on that team to buy in and do their job. Seth Jones. I mean,
02:10it goes on and on. Don't get me started on all. They got Mikola. They have all these guys
02:15that have a job to do and they do them. And I thought Belichick did that. He, you know,
02:20he brought guys in. Here's what you're going to do. This is your role. Don't do anything else.
02:25Do this better than everybody and we'll win a Superbowl. And they did this team plugs guys in
02:30to do jobs. And then they go out and they make the Stanley cup finals every year. This is three
02:35times in a row and they're going for two cups in a row. And I think it's made him rich and famous.
02:42It has, you know, the timing is everything, Scotty. Right. I mean, much like the Belichick
02:49situation, you know, was the Jets coach for a half hour. Then he's like, nope, I'm going to New
02:54England. I'm out of here. I know better. New England was hot trash for years prior to that.
03:01And you got to look at, you got new ownership here with the Panthers, right? Once Viola and company
03:07came in, took it over. Then all of a sudden, coach Q has to get fired, right? All sorts of
03:13situations there. They bring in Paul Maurice to take over what was a talented team, but you brought
03:19in Bill Zito. You brought in the general manager that has put it all together. So all of those
03:25things, new ownership, new GM, and of course, right place, right time for Paul Maurice. And now you've got
03:31yourself with smart business decisions and actually recruiting and figuring out guys that would fit the
03:39right style to play here. It's no, no wonder we're looking at three, three years in a row here,
03:45Scotty, with a possible two cups. So not only that, like Tampa, look at Tampa, what they did. And now
03:52look with Florida, what they've done. And they're all, you know, living tax-free down there and winning
03:58Stanley Cup.