Paul Maurice explains why Panthers, Hurricanes coaches skipped handshake line after Eastern Conference Final

No coaches took part in the traditional handshake line following the Florida Panthers‘ series-clinching Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Final over the Carolina Hurricanes. A brief on-ice exchange between Florida’s Paul Maurice and Carolina’s Rod Brind’Amour drew attention, but Maurice explained it was intentional, not a snub. 

“It’s a personal belief, and I really appreciate what he did, because there’s a bit of a risk,” Maurice said postgame. “I don’t believe that the coaches should shake players’ hands at the end. There’s this long list of people in suits and track suits. We had like 400 people on the ice. They’re all really important to our group. But not one of them was in the game.”

The Panthers overcame a 2-0 deficit after the first period of Game 5 to defeat the Hurricanes, 5-3, and advance to their third consecutive Stanley Cup Final. As players began lining up for the handshakes, Maurice and Brind’Amour met on the ice near the benches for a brief but animated conversation where the two agreed to let the players have the moment to themselves.

“There’s something for me visually, with the camera on of just the men who played, blocked shots, who fought for each other, it’s end of one’s season, it’s excitement for the other,” Maurice said. “The last thing that a player on the Carolina Hurricanes deserves is 50 more guys in suits. They have no idea who they are, and that’s not a negative. There’s something really kind of beautiful about just the camera on those men who played shaking hands. And we should respect that.”

Maurice added that he had a similar conversation with Toronto coach Craig Berube after the second-round series earlier in May, noting that both Berube and Brind’Amour — having been players themselves — understood the reasoning behind his approach.

“I don’t know where it changed,” Maurice said. “When I first got in the league, you would never want to shake the players’ hands. Some coach wanted to get on camera is the only thing I can figure out, right? Maybe they wanted to shake Wayne Gretzky’s hand. I don’t know when it changed, but I don’t think it’s right. … When you think of all the great competitions on the ice, hard, going after each other, and yet they shake hands like that. That’s special. They’re not sending Christmas cards to each other. This is nasty out there. Something very special to it.”