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The NHL fined Florida Panthers coach Paul Maurice $25,000 on Thursday for his comments about the officiating in his team’s overtime loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Maurice took issue with the officials after his team was short-handed seven times during a 5-4 loss on Tuesday. He then insinuated the aggressive whistle blowing served as some sort of payback for an incident in 2016 involving Francois St. Laurent, who served as the referee for Tuesday’s game.

“I don’t know what the hell those (referees) were doing tonight, but it was not Florida Panther-friendly,” Maurice said. “I just explained to (the team) that it had nothing to do with my players. It has to do with a relationship I have with one of the referees. That’s what that was all about.”

In 2016, while coaching the Winnipeg Jets, Maurice was ejected from a game and fined $5,000 for verbally blasting St. Laurent after Bryan Little was on the receiving end of a headshot from Anton Stralman. No penalty was called on the hit on Little, who missed the remainder of the season with a fractured neck.

Maurice, 55, owns a 796-701-135 record with 99 ties as head coach of the Hartford Whalers, Carolina Hurricanes, Maple Leafs, Jets and Panthers.

–Field Level Media