BIG BUCKS FOR MAURICE

It certainly does pay to coach in the National Hockey League. Just ask Sault Ste. Marie's Paul Maurice. SooToday.com has learned that Maurice's new contract with the Carolina Hurricanes is for five years and worth $3.5 million U.S. The 35-year old Maurice signed his new deal with the NHL Hurricanes on Tuesday, as SooToday.com reported. He coached Carolina to the Stanley Cup finals before the Hurricanes lost out to the Detroit Red Wings. Maurice has coached the Carolina franchise for seven seasons. Despite his tenure, he remains the youngest coach in the NHL. As Maurice got a new five-year deal from Carolina, so did his mentor, general manager Jim Rutherford. The two have been together since Rutherford, as general manager of the Windsor Spitfires, selected Maurice in the third round of the 1984 draft. Rutherford went on to hire Maurice as an assistant coach for both the Spitfires and the Detroit Jr. Wings (now Plymouth Whalers.) And when Rutherford moved up to the NHL as GM with the Hartford Whalers (now Carolina), he brought Maurice along with him.