Bemused Maurice says anti-Leaf cracks were all in good fun

RALEIGH, N.C.-Former Maple Leafs coach Paul Maurice cited his usual tongue-in-cheek humour for a comment he made here that indicated he harboured bitterness toward his former employers.

"The politically correct thing that most coaches would say is that it's just like any other game," Maurice told a radio show here Wednesday, in advance of last night's Leafs-Hurricanes game.

"But it's absolutely not. It's absolutely personal. You get fired, you want to see that team lose every game for the next 10 years."

Maurice, facing the Leafs for the first time since Toronto fired him last May, naturally sparked a monster media scrum yesterday morning, but insisted he was joking in the radio interview.

"Okay, how's this then, I hope (the Leafs) lose every game they play against us for the next 10 years ... people, go home and take some tea, relax and breathe ...," said Maurice, who has never said anything derogatory about the Toronto franchise since his firing.

While Maurice was not surprised by the reaction to his comments, he was mildly miffed that his sense of humour appeared to be forgotten after two years in Toronto where it was part of the daily routine with the media.

In fact, Maurice's humour was often dry and subtle, and was followed by pauses of awkward silence in the media scrums until he explained that he was actually waiting for someone to "get" the intent of his words.

"Sure, you get up a bit for a game like this, but that's a good thing," Maurice said yesterday.

"It'd be a lie to say you want to win this game more than any other game, but at the same time, it would be satisfying. The coach wants the two points against his old team but at the end of the day no one cares what the coach wants."

Leafs coach Ron Wilson concurred with Maurice.

"I'm sure there's always a bit of emotion involved," said Wilson, who admitted as much when he returned to San Jose as Leafs coach back in early December.

"His might be different than what I felt going into San Jose," said Wilson. "I'm sure he wants to beat us bad, but there's only so much a coach can do there.

"You would never place your personal feelings in front of your team and try to get them to play harder, that usually never works."