NHL

My, But The Carolina Hurricanes’ Coach Took Getting Fired Gracefully

Carolina Hurricanes coach Paul Maurice was fired earlier this week, an inglorious end to Maurice’s second stint coaching the ‘Canes, whom he led to the 2002 Stanley Cup Finals. And while it’s not tough to see why Carolina decided it was time to move on (they missed the playoffs the last two seasons and currently find themselves at the bottom of the Eastern Conference’s Southeast Division), Maurice certainly wasn’t fired for not being a solid guy. Above is a message he left for his replacement, Kirk Muller. Its contents, if cursive isn’t your thing:

KIRK,

Good luck. Great bunch of guys. The staff is A-1.

Paul Maurice

Now, one person here wondered if this was just Maurice’s way of urging Muller not to fire any of his staff (which, really, would also be a classy move). And the ultra-cynic might note he wrote the message on the board where everyone could see it and take a picture of it so word would spread about what a solid guy Paul Maurice is. But we’re impressed that he did something at all – the guy didn’t choose to leave, and owed his successor nothing. Maybe it’s tempting to let everyone have a piece of your (angry) mind on your way out the door, but this is the way to go.

[Reddit]