Florida Panthers head coach Paul Maurice held a press convention on Might 3 to debate his ideas as his workforce prepares to face the Toronto Maple Leafs within the second spherical of the NHL Playoffs. Whereas the veteran coach touched on many subjects, one matter that was mentioned raised just a few eyebrows.
“I don’t assume coaches ought to shake palms with gamers,” the Panthers head coach stated.
It has nothing to do with the Maple Leafs or head coach Craig Berube, nor did it have something to do with the contentious nature of their first-round victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning. As an alternative, Maurice says that line ought to be reserved for those who battled on the ice over the course of 4-7 video games.
An NHL Custom
The handshake line is an extended and distinctive custom of the NHL.
It’s unclear when the handshake line began within the NHL. Nonetheless, it has been round for over 100 years.
Hockey historian Liam Maguire posted a memoir online that dates the origin of the handshake line again to 1908. He recalled a newspaper clipping from 1908 about an All-Star Sport within the Japanese Canada Beginner Hockey Affiliation (ECAHA). The sport was to profit the widow of Hod Stuart, a member of the Montreal Wanderers who was killed in a diving accident.
One of many footage within the newspaper confirmed the 2 sides shaking palms. Whereas it might not have been the primary time groups engaged in a handshake line, it’s the first documented occasion in hockey.
Not a New Opinion from Maurice
Whereas Maurice supports the handshake line, he believes that it shouldn’t embody coaches.
“When this complete factor began, and I don’t know when it modified, most likely up to now 10 years, however the coaches would come off the bench, shake palms, after which they would go away,” Maurice stated. “Someplace, some coach needed to get on digicam, bought down there, and bought within the line. Now, when you don’t, you get roasted for it, being disrespectful. So, you’ve bought to go and shake a bunch of sweaty dudes’ palms.”
Whereas he did take part within the handshake line after the Panthers defeated the Lightning, Maurice had beforehand skipped some handshake traces within the playoffs.
When he was head coach of the Winnipeg Jets, Maurice took some criticism for not collaborating within the handshake line after a 2021 playoff collection in opposition to the Montreal Canadiens.
Maurice defined his reasoning for skipping the line throughout a video convention shortly after the collection concluded. “I am going again within the league for a very long time. After I first began, the coaches by no means shook the gamers’ palms. And I feel that’s proper. It ought to be for the boys who swing at one another, that combat, claw and scratch their manner by way of the collection. It’s the gamers’ place.”
Coach-Participant Handshakes Ought to Be Off-Ice
Throughout that media availability on Saturday (Might 3), Maurice stated he believes coaches ought to have their postgame moments away from the handshake line, reserving that nice custom for the gamers.
“However you put on fits to the sport, the place for these guys, the battle is actual, the depth and meanness. You’ve gotten two guys crossing paths who’ve been making an attempt to do hurt to one another between 4 to seven video games, and the handshake is legit. That’s a part of the nice story of our sport that they will do this. That’s the best way it ought to be.”
Associated: Former Panthers Might Propel Maple Leafs in Second Spherical Collection
Maurice would fairly maintain his distance on the last horn, perhaps assembly an opposing participant underneath the stands to keep away from the eye.
Whereas he participated within the earlier handshake and added that he was “impressed” by what Lightning gamers stated to him through the handshake line, the query of whether or not Maurice will or won’t take part within the handshake line has added a brand new layer of intrigue heading into the matchup in opposition to the Leafs.
Ought to coaches take part within the handshake line? Share your ideas within the remark part beneath.
