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Paul Maurice Press conference from October 26, 1999
Posted: Thursday October 28, 1999 08:59 PM
Question: As you get prepared to open up the new rink in Carolina, obviously, moving down there a couple of years ago and having that commute back and forth to Greensboro, this is a long-awaited arena opening for you. Talking about the success of hockey in Carolina in general, there has been much talk about the team only selling 6,000 season tickets, things like that. Has this been difficult for you, and do you really see that hockey is going to take off in Carolina now that you finally have a home? Paul Maurice: Well, it hasn't been difficult for us at all. I was really surprised last year that we actually got as many people at the games as we did. I know that the majority of them came from the Raleigh area. If you are not familiar, the drive from Raleigh to Greensboro is quite an experience because you go through an area called the Research Triangle Park, which is kind of like Toronto at the 400 and the 401. And, I guess from my point of view, I can only really look at the little things that happened when you are coaching the people that notice you in the grocery store; all those things, the number of Hurricanes T-shirts you see around town. That seems to be -- the people are pretty excited. I know that the 6,000 season tickets are a concern, but I don't see that as a problem. We are going to have to build something here. So the fact that 6,000 came up right away I thought was encouraging. And I think it's going to be fine here. I know it's going to be a great place to live. The guys love it here. I think we will be able to build something pretty fine here. Question: You say the 6,000 season tickets aren't a big problem in your mind. Yet, Jim Rutherford has said the economic state of the team kind of forbids them right now from paying Keith Primeau more than the $3 million that he has been offered. Have you pretty much given up hope on ever having Keith play right now, now that he said he is going to join the Canadian national team? Paul Maurice: No. I think the negotiations have gone pretty much as we've seen, a pattern right from the start of the summer. I think Keith is going to play here because I am very well assured that he is not playing anywhere else. So, at some point, he will be on our hockey team. I don't know that you necessarily can blame the economic situation of the market for making good business decisions. I think what's offered Keith Primeau is fair regardless of where your hockey team plays, and I think that's where you got to do business. Even if we get 16,000 season tickets, we cannot continue to spend all of the money and then half the money that you don't have to put a hockey team on the ice. We got a good team. We got a good bunch of players here. I really feel that those two are almost separate in some ways. Question: You started off a nine-game road trip and came back two games over 500. Who has been stepping up in Keith's absence? Paul Maurice: Well, I am going to answer this in two parts. Right from day one, my feeling was that he probably wouldn't start the season, so we really tried to work on this whole team concept that you will hear us preach about and that every player on the team has a role that they have to play and a function, and that has been the real key to our success. But I think you have to take a look at Ron Francis both on and off the ice for his leadership ability. We had a real nice and smooth training camp. Everybody worked really hard. And then on ice, he has got a great bit of chemistry going on with Battaglia and Kapanen. Those three guys, not only are they our best offensive line; they are also our best defensive line. It makes my job so much easier when your best offensive player is also your best defensive player and he enjoys playing the defensive part of the game. Then I don't have to argue with anybody about being too skilled to play good defense. That makes your coach's job just a whole lot easier to have a guy like Ron around. Question: What do you think of the new arena? I think you have been quoted before as saying that, with playing in Greensboro, it's kind of like you have been on a road trip for the last couple of years. Paul Maurice: I think that in a lot of ways it is accurate from how the staff tried to prepare a team. We would only skate on that rink during the games and we would spend all of our time in Raleigh, so it was a trip. It's an hour and a half one way for the guys that lived in North Raleigh, and that's where most of our guys lived. It was a bit of a road game. I think we actually would get home earlier from Pittsburgh than we would from Greensboro. The building itself is just fantastic. The first thing that I noticed from walking in was the stands are nice and steep. They haven't spread them out too much. So there should be a pretty good intimate feel for the building. I believe there are 10,600 seats in the lower portion, which is nice. It's not cut up. We should really be able to get a good loud building. I was always surprised at how loud that building in Greensboro was. Even when you had 5,000-6,000 people in there, it really rocked. Maybe it's the fans. I think they come to the games to scream, so I think we're going to have a great home place. Question: You have been through as much as just about any NHL coach in the five years. I mean, the move, the having to drive to Greensboro, everything. How have you stayed positive and how difficult has it been to come in at the age of 28 and try to handle all of the pressures of the NHL? Paul Maurice: Well, those are probably separate issues. I think the first part, I had a difficult time in the first couple of years. There is no question that it wasn't easy. I think that I have been very fortunate; that I have always had a real good support staff. As every year has gone by, as a coach, you get more and more confidence, but our room gets better and better. All of the coaches say they have a really great bunch of guys to work with. I really enjoy going to work with the players we have on this team. They are so focused. They work real hard. They get along better than they ever have before. I think Ron Francis and Gary Roberts, those kind of guys, have a lot to do with it. They are just good guys. They are good guys to go to work with. My job has actually gotten easier because of the players in the room. And on the other hand, I think the experience helps, too, there is no question. After you have been in the league four or five years, you start to be able to see things on a little bit longer term, and having a contract that's three years helps as well. Question: How long did it take you to trust or to realize that Arturs could be a No. 1 goalie, and was there a feeling out process there, because he was really strong here in Dallas, but it was basically as a backup? Paul Maurice: Well, the truth kind of works like this: We had Trevor Kidd. I really looked at him as one of the guys that saved my job, quite honestly. Two years ago, we were in an awful tailspin before the Olympic break, and Trevor Kidd was phenomenal. To give you an idea, I really wanted Trevor to do very well here, and the next year, we needed to get off to a good start and Trevor didn't even play badly. We played Tampa Bay. He gave up three goals in the third period. They tied us 4-4. We went into Nashville. They scored three goals in the first period. I don't think I can in the Nashville game fault him, but Arturs came in, didn't give up any goals, and then we tied Philadelphia and Dallas, as a matter of fact, at home, and from then on, I gave Trevor opportunities and he did not play poorly, but every time Arturs won and he played strong, and he carried that through the whole year. So, it was one of those situations where I wasn't really even looking for Arturs to be as good as he was. I always felt, even halfway through the year, that Trevor at some point would step in and be the No. 1 guy. And Arturs just kept playing very, very well. As we got into, I would say, the three-quarter pole in the season, there was no question who our No. 1 guy is. One of the things that Arturs does very well, his personality in some way fits our team. He is a very hard working guy. We have got a lot of -- I don't know if conditioning freaks is the right word -- but a lot of guys who spend a lot of time on their physical condition. That's real important to them. To see your goaltender be one of the hardest working guys on your team, that really kind of ties guys together. When their positions are so different, sometimes you need a bond between your goaltender and the rest of your team, and he has done that. I guess that's a long-winded way of saying probably at the three-quarter pole last year, I had done everything to have Trevor Kidd be the guy, and not that Trevor played poorly, but Arturs had just played so well, he had to be the number one. Question: Regarding Keith Primeau, you said the offer was fair. If Primeau accepted the Hurricanes offer, there would be 15 other centers in the league earning more. How can you say that is fair? Paul Maurice: Which offer are you talking about? Question: $3 million a year. Paul Maurice: Two weeks earlier, he would have accepted 3.5, and 3.5, that would have changed it, and the $20 million at the start would have changed that as well, so, you know, if he waits until the end of the season, there will probably be more than 15 centers earning more than he is. Right now, I can tell you there are a lot more centers in the league earning what he makes. A better way to answer your question is, where do I value Keith Primeau in terms of the league, and where do I see him on our team, Keith Primeau is very good at most things in the National Hockey League. He could be a tough guy if he had to. I think a 30-goal season was an excellent season for him last year. I am not sure that he would ever reach more on talent, but he might reach more on will and determination because he is a very determined man. Defensively, he is strong because of his size. Most of what Keith does and does well, he is just a strong personality in that matter, but I can also say that about four or five other guys on our team. That's the style of people they are and the style of game that they play. We would very much like to have him back. If he came in now, would he be our number one center, well, probably not with the way Ron Francis is playing. But over time, given his size and his strength, he may be. Is that a fair assessment? Question: Well, I was just going to ask would the Hurricanes be a better team with Primeau in the lineup today and why? Paul Maurice: We would have a better lineup, but I don't want to take anything away from the guys that have played. I am not so sure their record would be any better than it is right now. Question: Two questions, one, Scotty Bowman, did he put you on his knee as a grandfather or something? Paul Maurice: No. I used to go and watch his practices, though. I was coaching junior in Detroit when he first started with the Red Wings. But I think before his name and mine get linked too often, this might be the only category. There is a long, long way to go before those two names are mentioned in any other category. Question: I was just wondering, getting into your new arena, finally getting a place you can call home, when you consider what your team has been through between moving, losing Steve Chiasson in a horrible accident, is this going to ground your team a little bit more perhaps? Paul Maurice: I hope so. I know that it means different things for each player. This is probably not the right forum with so many out there. From a personal point of view, two years ago, I would really like to be the coach of this team when they move into the new building, and from that point, there are a lot of guys that probably felt the exact same way. I don't want to have to go through a year or two years of this and not get a chance to play in that first game. And in Steve's case, the worst case scenario, you are not able to play anywhere. These guys, they really feel like they paid a price to be here. That may be where the strength I feel in the locker room comes from. We did make a lot of changes. We are not planning on making a lot of changes. The majority of guys in that room made the drive. They suffered through the two years, so there is a real sense of homecoming in that those guys have paid the price and earned the right to be there. Question: Talking a little bit earlier, you mentioned Sami Kapanen as being one of the guys that has been helping your success this year. Sami is 5'10" on a good day, 170 pounds. There is a lot of guys in the League now that are coming in, the Steve Kariyas, obviously, Paul before him, but there seems to be more of a trend toward some of these smaller skilled players getting a chance in the league now. Do you think that's a reflection on the League's opinions of going more towards the offense and cracking down on obstruction or is it simply there is a need for more players? Paul Maurice: Well, probably a bit of both. A need for more players, you would open up more opportunities, but you would still go with the same style. I have noticed a real big change even in the four years from the year or two after New Jersey won the Cup to the change in the obstruction and they went back and kind of cut back on the obstruction, and then they bounced back again. There is a real change. A guy like Sami Kapanen, there's no question, is more effective and more valuable when you are not allowed to hold him for that long. That's a good thing because he is an exciting player. He has got a great shot, He skates as well as anybody on our team, and you want to see a guy like that play. I think there is more physical play in the game now without the obstruction because of the opportunities to get in. I think you are going to see the smaller skilled player kind of make a resurgence here. Question: Would you talk about your rookie defenseman, David Tanabe, drafted 16th. He is a bit of a surprise to be there, I would think. Paul Maurice: I will take my time on this one. The guys we get in the first round are ready to play on our team. When we drafted the guy, and I got the standard line about this guy can play for you next year, you kind of go, geez, I hope he can't, because if he can, we are in trouble. That is the standard line I give them. I set the bar a little bit high for these young guys, and he came in and he was better than they said he was going to be. He skates so very well on our back-end, and he may be an even better skater than Paul Coffey is. He still doesn't have Coffey's straightaway speed, but his agility is fantastic. His ability to handle the puck while he moves is better than anybody else on our back-end is. I have really been impressed. He is one of those guys that really likes playing hockey. He is not caught up in anything else. He stays out late. He has fun with the guys. His skills are more advanced than any person at that age that I have seen. He is going to be, at the very least, a very, very good defenseman. If he never got better than he was today, he would be a good defenseman, and as he progresses, this guy is going to be an exceptional player. Question: Can't his presence improve your power play? Paul Maurice: It already has. He has two of our four power play goals. If you watched our power play from last year to this year, there is a remarkable difference. We actually control the puck, which is a nice change for us. He has been a big part of that. His ability to pull a puck across the blue line and handle it has made a big difference.
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