Former longtime Winnipeg Jets head coach Paul Maurice celebrated his second consecutive Stanley Cup victory in style once again this offseason. Much like that of his 2024 celebration, the 58-year-old Florida Panthers bench boss brought hockey's greatest prize to places important to him. Photo by Sam Navarro/USA Today [https://deweb-519a7.b-cdn.net/post-images/735770ec-ace3-4e6f-b532-39a794d505c1.jpeg] Photo by Sam Navarro/USA Today The Sault Ste. Marie product opted to bring his trophy home to Winnipeg and then later to his nearby Lake of the Woods family cottage for another summer party in the woods. Maurice held his event on Saturday, to which family and friends gathered for sip out of the Stanley Cup and to celebrate the now back-to-back champion and his recent accomplishments down in Florida with the Panthers. Maurice, who spent nine seasons with the Jets, helped Winnipeg to the Western Conference Final in 2018, but never got his team over that hump. The Jets actually only made it out of the first round one time since that five-game series loss to Vegas. A beloved figure within Manitoba, Maurice famously drew the attention of the hockey world after winning his first Cup in the 2023-24 season by turning to the camera and wishing Winnipeg the next Stanley Cup. Unfortunately, despite the Jets' Presidents' Trophy victory, they couldn't get past Dallas in the second round. Maurice's Panthers ultimately won the title for the second year in a row just a month later. With family still tied to Winnipeg (Maurice's daughter Sydney works as an English language arts teacher at St. Mary's Academy) this likely won't be the last time the league's third most winningest coach returns to the middle province.
