Paul Maurice responds to Jon Cooper's verbatim postgame message: 'He chirped me'

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla.

The battle of Florida is fierce and often nasty, but its not without some humorous moments.

Paul Maurice is playing along and appears to be enjoying himself.

Following Floridas Game 2 victory, Maurice voiced displeasure at Brandon Hagels blindside hit that knocked Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov out of the game.

Hagel was later suspended one game for the hit.

Brandon Hagel has been suspended 1 games for interference on Aleksander Barkov pic.twitter.com/AvC0bdlT83 B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) April 26, 2025 The only players we hit are the ones that have pucks, Maurice said following the game.

Fast-forward 48 hours, and the tables turned in more ways than one.

Tampa Bay, desperate for a win in Game 3 after dropping the first two games of the series on home ice, earned a 5-1 victory on Florida ice, as road teams remained undefeated in the series.

When Jake Guentzel was busy setting up Anthony Cerellis empty-net goal that iced the victory, he was annihilated by a very late Matthew Tkachuk hit.

Matthew Tkachuk has been given a 5-minute major for this hit on Jake Guentzel before Tampa's ENG pic.twitter.com/gDHny5h8z2 B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) April 26, 2025 Tkachuk is not expected to be disciplined by the NHL.

This didnt stop Jon Cooper from voicing his displeasure.

And he very much did so at Maurices expense.

The only players we hit are the ones with the pucks, Cooper responded in a very clear, if not humorous, reference to what he perceived to be some hypocrisy on the part of the Panthers.

Advertisement Maurice was asked on Sunday afternoon if he was aware of Coopers comment.

True to form, he was.

And he seemed to enjoy it.

I know, Maurice said.

He chirped me.

The Florida and Tampa Bay respective head coaches very clearly possess considerable respect for one another, despite the mild war of words.

Maurice isnt above finding humor in the matter.

Im at home watching the Senators (against the Maple Leafs) game, Maurice said.

He chirped me.

Which I appreciate.

He used my own words on me, too.

Im not sure its applicable to the events on the ice, but it was still good.

The NHL agrees that Coopers words werent entirely applicable.

Tkachuk received a five-minute penalty for the late hit on Guentzel.

However, the league has deemed that suspending Tkachuk isnt appropriate because Guentzel did have the puck at some point before being hit and because there was no head contact on the play.

Jon Cooper pulled the reversal on Paul Maurice's quote when asked about the Tkachuk hit Playoffs are in WWE mode pic.twitter.com/i8sPExtPDC Spittin' Chiclets (@spittinchiclets) April 26, 2025 Guentzel made it clear that he believed the NHL should offer some discipline in Tkachuks direction.

Im sure the league is going to do their job, Guentzel said after Game 2.

Personally, I thought it was late.

Theres no questioning that it was a late hit.

Not late enough, however, for the league to move forward with a suspension to Tkachuk, a player known for occasionally going over the edge physically.

The series has been plenty intense already, and Maurice doesnt think his banter with Cooper adds to the ferociousness of this battle.

Oh my God, he said.

I hope not.

But make no mistake, Maurice is having a good time with Cooper.

And I think the coaches probably all have to take over the chirps at some point, Maurice said.

Its kind of a lost art on the bench.

Its all good.

Advertisement Cooper, later on Sunday, seemed somewhat at peace with the leagues decision to not discipline Tkachuk.

George Parros and company at the Department of Player Safety, I dont know if theres a harder job in sports than what they have, Cooper said.

Its a no-win situation for them because one fan base is going to be upset about one decision, and the other fan base is going to be upset because the decision wasnt strong enough.

So its kind of like being a referee.

If you asked me right now what our forecheck is, I can tell you.

If you asked me right now to go and determine what goes on in one of these hits and how it should be judged, I cant.

I dont see them enough.

These guys are schooled on it.

Cooper added: The department knows exactly what theyre doing.

And so for me to sit here and to judge them, I cant judge them.

They know what theyre doing.

I dont in that regard.

And so you accept their decision and move on and trust that the right one is being made because theyre not cheering for anybody.

Theyre cheering for the game to be played properly and how they see fit is probably what should have happened, regardless of what everybody feels about it.

Game 4 is scheduled for Monday night at 7 p.m.

in Sunrise.

The series returns to Tampa for Game 5 on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m.

Tkachuk and Hagel, who very famously fought at puck drop when the United States and Canada played at the 4 Nations Face-off in February in Montreal, will both be available.

The players play the game to win, and theres a physical aspect to it, Cooper said.

And do I think in the 1,000-plus regular season games and 100 playoff games, whatever goes on, is there predatory hits? Maybe.

These players want to win.

Do they go out of their way to hurt somebody? I dont think so.

Do I think either of those plays or other plays, were guys going out to physically take somebody out of the game? I dont think so.

(Photo: John E.

Sokolowski / Imagn Images).

This article has been shared from the original article on theathleticuk, here is the link to the original article.