Jets' Ehlers: I'm 'forever thankful' for ex-coach Maurice
An emotional Friday for the Winnipeg Jets started with the resignation of longtime bench boss Paul Maurice and culminated in a 5-2 loss to the Washington Capitals.
But for Jets sniper Nikolaj Ehlers, saying goodbye to the only NHL head coach he's ever played for was particularly difficult.
"It was a weird morning," Ehlers told the media postgame. "(Maurice) was the guy who gave me the chance to play in the NHL. I'll be forever thankful for the seven years and all the things that I learned from him, and for the chance that he gave me.
"He's not just a great coach but also a great person."
Ehlers, who the Jets drafted ninth overall in 2014, had played under Maurice since making his NHL debut in 2015-16. Maurice announced his decision to step down Friday after coaching Winnipeg for 600 games since 2014.
However, Friday wasn't just emotional for the players.
"It's been a whirlwind," interim bench boss Dave Lowry said prior to coaching his first NHL game, according to Mitchell Clinton of NHL.com. "For myself, it came out of the blue. I first had a conversation last night with (general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff), that was the first I had any inkling that something was going on."
Although the team dropped its first game under Lowry, Ehlers said the Jets are looking forward to what's next.
"We've got a great coaching staff here that we want to build this together (with)," he said. "We gotta look forward now. I know that, with this team, we've got more in us than where we're at right now. Even though right now it's a little tough, it should be exciting for us as well."
Lowry said he wants the Jets to play fast and hard moving forward. However, Ehlers said following Friday's contest that there wasn't much time for Lowry to implement those changes due to the sudden resignation.
The Jets are currently in fifth place in the Central Division with a record of 13-11-5.
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