Following the Florida Panthers` victory over the Carolina Hurricanes in Game 5 to clinch the Eastern Conference Final, neither head coach participated in the customary post-game handshake line. A brief on-ice interaction between Florida`s Paul Maurice and Carolina`s Rod Brind`Amour drew attention, but Maurice later clarified that this was a deliberate decision, not an oversight or snub.
“It`s a personal belief,” Maurice stated post-game, acknowledging Brind`Amour`s cooperation which involved a degree of risk. “I don`t believe that the coaches should shake players` hands at the end.” He pointed out the large number of non-playing personnel present on the ice – “We had like 400 people on the ice. They`re all really important to our group. But not one of them was in the game.”
The Panthers secured their spot in the Stanley Cup Final for the third consecutive time by overcoming a 2-0 first-period deficit in Game 5 to defeat the Hurricanes 5-3. As the players began lining up for the traditional handshakes, Maurice and Brind`Amour met near their benches and had a short, animated conversation. During this exchange, they mutually agreed to step aside and allow the players to have the moment entirely to themselves.
Maurice further explained his perspective: “There`s something for me visually, with the camera on of just the men who played, blocked shots, who fought for each other, it`s end of one`s season, it`s excitement for the other.” He felt that the defeated Carolina players didn`t need to shake hands with numerous non-playing staff members they likely didn`t know. He emphasized the “kind of beautiful” aspect of the focus being solely on the players shaking hands and stressed that this moment should be respected.
Maurice also mentioned that he had a similar conversation and agreement with Toronto coach Craig Berube after their second-round series earlier in May. He noted that both Brind`Amour and Berube, having been players themselves, understood and agreed with his reasoning for skipping the coach handshake.
“I don`t know where it changed,” Maurice mused about the practice of coaches joining the handshake line. “When I first got in the league, you would never want to shake the players` hands.” He speculated that perhaps it started with a coach seeking camera time or wanting to shake the hand of a famous player like Wayne Gretzky. He maintained, “I don`t think it`s right.” Maurice finds the player-to-player handshake particularly significant due to the intense nature of the competition. “When you think of all the great competitions on the ice, hard, going after each other, and yet they shake hands like that. That`s special… This is nasty out there. Something very special to it.”
Elton Marrow 
Torin Vale