For decades, Paul Maurice has been an excellent NHL coach. His exclusive 2004 story for The Hockey News revealed what coaches go through during the Stanley Cup playoffs.

For decades now, coach Paul Maurice has been a staple behind NHL benches. And in this feature story from The Hockey News’ April 6, 2004, edition (Vol. 57, Issue 31), Maurice penned an exclusive story on what coaches go through once the playoffs begin.

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Maurice was between coaching jobs when he wrote an exclusive story for The Hockey News. He focused the story on coaches’ jobs heading into the Stanley Cup playoffs.

“As coaches we would go through the 12-minute (scouting) tape clip-by-clip, editing out parts we didn’t want,” Maurice wrote. “We reserved the next day, when the players came back, for studying the opposition. We would put the names of every player up on the chalkboard and go through their individual tendencies. Everyone who knew something about a guy would have a chance to speak up. Then we would check off their lines and defense pairings, start talking about matchups and a game plan and finally it was onto the ice for a skate to get the blood flowing.”

Maurice has been successful over the years because of his passion for the game and his willingness to challenge players the right way. Although players are asked not to let a loss here or there get them down, coaches are wired a little differently.

“When you lose a game, you can’t usually just forget about it,” Maurice said. “Players want to know why we lost and how we’re going to fix it. As a coach you’ve got to give them hope why they can win the next day. Often it’s something technical. It can also be getting the players to see that the situation isn’t as dismal as they believe. There’s a certain way to act when you lose a playoff game in the NHL. Nobody talks on the bus. Nobody talks on the plane. Players act this way because they’re supposed to. But it can hurt the cause.”

COACHES’ TASKS NEVER DONE

Vol. 57, No. 31, April 6, 2004

By Paul Maurice

For players, the day after the regular season is a time for rest and healing. There’s no such luck for the coaches. It might be four days until the first playoff game or the next series, but the video room is already calling.

In 2002, when we played New Jersey in the first round, our video man Chris Huffine had prepared a 12-minute tape with everything we needed to look at by the morning after our last regular season game. On it was the Devils’ forecheck, their neutral zone systems, defensive zone coverage, special teams, faceoff alignments and goaltending. Chris isolated examples from New Jersey’s final five games of the season in addition to the tape we gathered during the year.

As coaches we would go through the 12-minute tape clip-by-clip, editing out parts we didn’t want We reserved the next day, when the players came back, for studying the opposition. We would put the names of every player up on the chalkboard and go through their individual tendencies. Everyone who knew something about a guy would have a chance to speak up. Then we would check off their lines and defense pairings, start talking about matchups and a game plan and finally it was onto the ice for a skate to get the blood flowing.

Day 3 was systems day. Our guys watched that 12-minute video for the first and only time. During practice we worked specifically on drills related to our game plan. The first two teams we played that year, the Devils and Montreal, were both trapping teams. The second two teams-Toronto and Detroit-played different styles. We needed to adjust our breakout and neutral zone counters and had to change things up in practice as a result.

It’s good to get that stuff out of the way two days before the first game because then there’s no visiting media hanging around. (Our own media was tired of watching us practice. They wouldn’t know the difference.) The day before the first game we didn’t want to talk about the other team; it was just ‘go up and down the ice and get feeling good’.

Motivation isn’t much of an issue in the playoffs; players either believe in the system you’re playing or they don’t. Line matches and personnel decisions matter. But from a coach’s perspective, at least as important as all that-especially if you’re the underdog-is keeping up hope.

When you lose a game, you can’t usually just forget about it. Players want to know why we lost and how we’re going to fix it. As a coach you’ve got to give them hope why they can win the next day. Often it’s something technical. It can also be getting the players to see that the situation isn’t as dismal as they believe.

There’s a certain way to act when you lose a playoff game in the NHL. Nobody talks on the bus. Nobody talks on the plane. Players act this way because they’re supposed to. But it can hurt the cause.

For example, we won the first two games in our series against New Jersey. They beat us badly in the next two. On the bus heading to the airport after Game 4,1 told the guys we did what we were supposed to do, the Devils did what they’re supposed to do. We’re in great shape, so relax, talk, smile, do whatever. Keep the hope.

Outside of that, it’s pretty much the players running the show - them and the video guy. The day after a game there would be tapes on all the coaches’ desks when we arrived at 6:30 or 7 in the morning. The whole game would be there plus every turnover, regroup, breakout, faceoff, chances for and against, forechecks, neutral zone play and breakouts for both teams. Chris might leave the rink at 2:30 or 3 in the morning after a home game. If it was a road game and we flew home after the game, he would head to the rink when we landed and pull an all-nighter.

One other non-game day memory stands out from that 2002 playoff run: Before we headed to Toronto for Game 6 in the Eastern Conference final, I was chatting with one of our players. While we were talking every player on the team walked by us. I said ‘Hi’ to everyone, and I remember thinking how nice it was to be feeling good about everybody. Nobody was grinding at me. I didn’t feel like there was any player that I had to get more out of than they were already giving. It was the only time in my years of coaching that I’ve ever felt that way.”

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