Florida coach Paul Maurice did not shake hands with the Carolina Hurricanes when the Eastern Conference final ended. And he asked Carolina coach Rod Brind'Amour not to shake hands with the Panthers, either.
It wasn't out of disrespect.
Quite the contrary, really.
The handshake line at the end of a playoff series is one of hockey's sacred traditions, no matter how physical the series was before one team eventually prevailed. And Maurice thinks the handshakes are part of what makes the game great to hockey fans, and he's all for it happening.
He has just said repeatedly throughout this postseason that he thinks the coaches shouldn't be part of it - reiterating that after the Panthers eliminated the Hurricanes on Wednesday night, even going as far as convincing Brind'Amour to sit it out himself. In that moment, Maurice said, nothing should take the attention off the players on the two teams that just played a series.