Amid rumours that Seattle would be going after him for the team's head coaching position, Winnipeg's Paul Maurice says he's not interested in being anywhere other than where he already is.
“I'm here as long as Mark [Chipman] and Kevin [Cheveldayoff] want me to be here,” Maurice told reporters Monday when asked about the Seattle rumours. “This is home for me. I love this place. I'm not looking to go anywhere. It'll be kicking and screaming on the way out, that'll be how that transition happens. So, I don't know — it's a little unusual that the speculation is related to a coach that has a job. Usually it's the three or four guys that are out. It's also something that's kind of down the road.
Maurice's contract with Winnipeg is reportedly up at the end of this season. However, Maurice is making it clear he's only interested in signing an extension with the Jets.
“Whether I have a lifetime contract here or I'm getting paid by the hour here, nothing changes. This is all about having the right guy at the right time to coach the Winnipeg Jets. That fit's really important,” he said. “I'm a little unusual in my tenure and my age, I feel I'm very unusual because I found a place that you just love living in, love coaching in, you just want to be a part of, you feel like you're a part of the growth.
“I just can't see that changing. We all know that coaches, it changes for some — I don't feel that we're close to that. I plan on being here for a long time.”
Maurice started coaching Winnipeg in 2013-14, initially taking over on an interim basis. He's coached a total of 478 games with the team, sporting a record of 255-173-50 record. The team has made the playoffs in three of the last five seasons and reached the conference final in 2017-18.
It was initially Elliotte Friedman who fueled the Seattle rumours by stating on his 31 Thoughts podcast that he had been told by many people that they expected Seattle to take a run at getting Maurice when his contract was up.
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