DETROIT – There’s Bobby Holik, there’s Billy Guerin . . . and there could have been Paul Maurice.
But no.
For even though the coach who has guided Carolina to a 1-0 edge in the Stanley Cup Finals that continue here tonight can become a free agent on July 1 upon the expiration of his contract, Maurice yesterday told The Post he has no intention of trying to capitalize on this remarkable success story by going on the open market.
“My contract is up, that’s accurate, but I’m not interested in any other job,” Maurice said after his club’s practice. “If [owner] Peter Karmanos and [GM] Jim Rutherford want me back, then I will be back.
“There won’t be any negotiating. There won’t be any shopping. I’ll sign the deal.”
Maurice, who turned 35 in January, has been behind the franchise’s bench for seven seasons, two in Hartford after being hired Nov. 6, 1995, now five in Carolina. He’s second in the league in tenure with the same club to only Scotty Bowman, who has coached the Red Wings for nine seasons. He’s made it despite consistent rumors of his demise.
“I think the count is 374 rumors that I was going to be given a week before I was going to be fired,” Maurice, an engaging personality, said. “But I have to say that never bothered me. Management and ownership were always very supportive of me and honest with me about where I stood in their evaluation.
“Until this year, I don’t think any of those rumors were accurate, but there was more internal pressure this year, and then when we fell back to .500 in December, that wasn’t good enough for anybody. I was very aware of that and of what the consequences would be if we didn’t improve. I understood that I was at a critical juncture.
“But again, the support was outstanding. You never get the feeling here that they don’t want you to succeed or win, they don’t scuttle you with the players on by dropping things in the paper. The relationship I’ve had here has been built on mutual respect.
“This is where I want to be.”
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Maurice on Ron Francis, who scored the winner in Tuesday’s 3-2 Game 1 OT victory: “He never throws his greatness in your face.”
Sixteen seconds into overtime, a Red Wing shot went into the crowd. Though the teams originally lined up for a faceoff in the Carolina zone-it appeared as if the shot had glanced off Artus Irbe, the draw was moved outside the blue line after a long delay.
Bowman yesterday confirmed that the call was made by league officials using video review, though the rule book does not allow for such review. It’s all when and good to get the call right, but is the league going to use video review on goals that are scored on plays that are offside?
