Paul Maurice?

At first glance, I think everyone's first question has been "Why would the Hurricanes hire back Paul Maurice?" After all, the Canes did fire him once already, and he isn't exactly Billy Martin. He also hasn't done squat since that time, so there is no reason to think he is any better of a coach now than he was then. But I think that the real plan here is to just groom Ron Francis for the job next year. Francis has made it clear that he isn't interested in being a head coach at this point, probably because he has noticed how poorly fellow hall-of-famer Wayne Gretzky has down out in Phoenix with no experience. So I think that the Hurricanes hired a coach with lots of experience (Maurice) to serve as a mentor to Francis while he learns how to manage a team. There is no question that Maurice is a smart coach who knows the game well, he just hasn't been able to translate that success into a whole lot of wins, save for his magical season where he led to the team to the Stanley Cup, eventually losing to a powerhouse Detroit Red Wings team. Also, when Francis was a player for the Hurricanes, he played for Maurice for a long time, so they obviously already have a strong relationship and will mesh well together.

So while I don't believe that Paul Maurice is the answer to saving this season, I do think that it is the best thing for the team in the long run, as it seems like Laviolette just could no longer get the necessary motivation out of his team (why he couldn't do this would be a whole other blog post). Maybe if they are lucky, Maurice can at least get this years team to the playoffs. However, Canes fans should look towards the future with this hiring, as it means Carolina will eventually get first crack at seeing Ronnie Franchise behind the bench as a head coach.