Winnipeg Jets head coach Paul Maurice talks to media during the first day of the Jets NHL training camp in Winnipeg on September 13, 2019. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/John Woods)
WINNIPEG — Paul Maurice has resigned as head coach of the Winnipeg Jets as the team continues to mount losses.
In a statement, the Jets say Maurice has chosen to resign effective immediately. He had been the Jets’ bench boss since January 2014.
Assistant coach Dave Lowry has agreed to assume head coaching duties on an interim basis until the end of the season.
The Jets are currently 5th in the Central division sitting at 13-10-5.
“This is a good team. I’m a good coach,” Maurice said Friday morning during his last media availability. “Sometimes when you take over and you’re starting at the bottom of a mountain, and you’re pushing a rock to the top, you can only get it to a certain place. That’s where I feel like I’m at.”
Maurice said he first broke the news earlier in the day to injured captain Blake Wheeler before addressing the team as a group prior to their morning skate.
“This isn’t necessarily a bunch of negative things that stacked up on this,” Maurice continued.
“This was, I’ve pushed as long and as hard as I can here. I love these guys. They need a new voice, and I know that.”
The 54-year-old native of Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., compiled a 315-223-62 record in exactly 600 games with Winnipeg. He was the second-longest serving NHL coach after Tampa Bay Lightning’s Jon Cooper.
Winnipeg welcomes the Washington Capitals to town tonight at 7 p.m.
Watch Maurice’s news conference below:
The JetsTV LIVE Pregame Show presented by Budweiser!#JetsTV’s @MitchellClinton is LIVE with today’s Pregame Show — starting with Paul Maurice at the Matt Frost Media Centre, and followed by General Manager Kevin Cheveldayoff. https://t.co/pZu61xecrL
— Winnipeg Jets (@NHLJets) December 17, 2021
— Winnipeg Jets PR (@WpgJetsPR) December 17, 2021
Eight seasons. Five playoff appearances. Countless memories.
Thank you Paul, for everything you have done for the team, the city, the province, and the sport. The positive impact you have left on our community and our organization will never be forgotten ? pic.twitter.com/eHcnumHkgH
— Winnipeg Jets (@NHLJets) December 17, 2021
— With files from The Canadian Press
