Panthers HC Paul Maurice makes shocking admission regarding captain Matthew Tkachuk - "Hated him"

Before they joined forces for the Florida Panthers, Paul Maurice was not a fan of Matthew Tkachuk. The 27-year-old is known for an abrasive style of play that entails talking trash and never backing down from conflict.

He's also known for hitting his opponents in games. That had prompted a certain impression of Tkachuk in Maurice's mind.

But when Maurice met Tkachuk, he quickly understood that he was wrong in his initial assessment of his now star player and alternate captain. The veteran coach had a wild analogy to explain this during his media availability.

"Have you ever shotgunned a beer? Have you ever been to church, not church, but something spiritual? Would you shotgun a beer in church? Okay, that doesn't make you a hypocrite. There's a context and a place for all things," Maurice said.

The Florida Panthers coach added:

"These men are honest. So that personality, it's all real. I hated Matthew Tkachuk, that's a little too strong, when I was in Winnipeg, right? Like, and then you meet him, and you go, 'My God, what a wonderful human being!' I've said these guys are different."

He added that Aleksander Barkov and Sam Bennett are endearing individuals as well. But players have different responsibilities in the game. It's unfair to judge their character from their actions on the ice.

"Then the puck drops. Sometimes you say a prayer, sometimes you shotgun a beer. It's kind of like our team," Maurice concluded.

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Matthew Tkachuk reflects on controversial Sebastian Aho hit

Matthew Tkachuk picked out Sebastian Aho and made him the target of that abrasive play style in Game 3. Getting revenge for Sam Reinhart, Tkachuk took Aho down and eventually, when the brutal fight was over, got a 10-minute misconduct and roughing.

Matthew Tkachuk explained his hit (Imagn)

He explained his position afterwards via ESPN:

"I don't really look at it as intent or intimidation at all. It's just sticking up for teammates. We're a family in there. It could happen to anybody and there's probably 20 guys racing to be the guy to stick up for a teammate like that. That's just how our team's built. That's why we're successful. I don't think any of us would be thrilled at that play in Game 2."

Aho hit Sam Reinhart and the latter missed Game 3. So Tkachuk was sticking up for his teammate against the Carolina Hurricanes.