Paul Maurice Shares Honest Reaction to Leafs' Playoff Surge Fueled by His Former Panthers

With the Maple Leafs heading into the second round against a familiar foe, they are firmly set with one goal in mind: rectify the 2023 mistakes that sent them packing courtesy of the Florida Panthers.

A very hungry and motivated team, they are at full strength and led by one of the NHL's best coaches.

Maurice has a lot of familiarity with the Leafs, being a former bench boss himself.

But those days are long past, and the stern and often dry-witted coach has now firmly set himself as Florida's coach and potentially the greatest they've had since Mike Keenan.

Known to wax poetic and be colorful with his words, Maurice had a message for his former players who now become the enemy, and had nothing but complimentary words while also acknowledging they're going to be an issue:

Not for nothing, but there was a lot of concerns around each of the players Maurice mentioned, but those reservations were quickly put to rest.

Oliver Ekman-Larsson is one of the greatest offensive defensemen of the past 20 years, Anthony Stolarz has emerged as a true starter, and Steven Lorentz is a player who helps teams win.

Did they perhaps have a bit of an advantage being part of a stacked Florida team?

Yeah, there's some validity there, but you have to hand it to each player; they've come in with a lot of pressure and expectations and blew people away.

Steven Lorentz was a PTO signing in September, earning a one-year deal that was quickly surpassed in value weeks into the season; he's been invaluable in Toronto's lineup and was one of the most consistent and reliable players.

He stayed healthy, led all forwards in hits, and cemented himself as a tried and true Maple Leaf.

Coming into the year, Stolarz was tasked with backing up Joseph Woll but instead took the reins and ran with them.

If he hadn't gotten injured he was very well in the Vezina conversation, and was fantastic for the team on a bargain deal.

He posted a 21-8-3 record with a 2.14 GAA and .926 SV%; he was stellar all season and while he struggled a bit in the first round, has proven to everyone that he should have been given a chance long ago.

In the case of Ekman-Larsson, so much concern around his age and proneness to injury had fans wondering if Brad Treliving made a huge mistake signing him to a four-year deal.

He came out with a vengeance though, and registered 29 points in 77 games while also adding a veteran presence with an edge; he has 108 hits and 83 blocks, and has been a bright spot for Toronto this postseason.

Maurice needs to be on his heels though, because while his players still hold an immense amount of respect for him, and he led them to a championship; he's now the enemy and no amount of admiration can take over the main goal of winning it all.