Paul Richard Mara (born September 7, 1979) is an American former professional ice hockey defenceman, who most recently served as the Assistant Coach of the Hartford Wolf Pack in the American Hockey League (AHL). He previously served as the head coach of the Boston Pride in the now defunct Premier Hockey Federation (PHF). Additionally, he served temporarily as an Assistant to Player Development for the New York Rangers of the National Hockey League (NHL) in the 2023-24 season.
He was selected 7th overall by the Tampa Bay Lightning in the 1997 NHL entry draft, and went on to play 12 seasons in the National Hockey League.
Playing career
Amateur As a youth, Mara played in the 1993 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament with a minor ice hockey team from the South Shore.
After playing two seasons of high school hockey in Massachusetts for Belmont Hill School Paul Mara joined the Sudbury Wolves of the Ontario Hockey League for the 1996–97 season. As part of a three-team trade with the Windsor Spitfires, Mara was traded to the Plymouth Whalers on December 16, 1997. In reflecting on his move from high school to Junior hockey Mara said, "It was the best decision of my life, to go up to Sudbury."
Professional Mara was drafted in the first round, 7th overall, in the 1997 NHL entry draft by the Tampa Bay Lightning. He spent two seasons between the Lightning and their IHL affiliate team the Detroit Vipers before being traded to the Phoenix Coyotes in 2001. He played 81 games with the Coyotes in 2003–04. During the 2004 NHL lockout, Mara joined the Hannover Scorpions of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga.
After the lockout, Paul Mara scored a career-high 47 points that year. On June 26, 2006, he was traded by the Coyotes to the Boston Bruins for fellow defenseman Nick Boynton.
On February 27, 2007, Mara was traded to the New York Rangers for Aaron Ward. On July 4, 2008, Mara re-signed with the Rangers for one year at $1.95 million.
On July 10, 2009, Mara signed with the Montreal Canadiens.
On September 16, 2010, Mara signed with the Anaheim Ducks for one year at $750,000. After appearing in 33 games with the Ducks to start the 2010–11 season, on February 16, 2011, Mara was traded by the Ducks to the Montreal Canadiens in exchange for a 2012 fifth-round draft pick. He took a brief break from hockey during the 2011–12 season.
On September 26, 2012, Mara signed a one-year contract with the Ontario Reign of the ECHL.
On January 9, 2013, Mara signed with the Houston Aeros after the team became short on defensemen due to a combination of injuries and the end of the NHL lockout.
Coaching career Mara was the assistant coach of the 2018 Olympic United States women's national ice hockey team. On May 30, 2018, Mara was named head coach of the PHF's (formerly NWHL) Boston Pride. He is currently the head coach with the most wins in PHF history, and one of only two coaches to win more than 30 games. Mara became the first coach in PHF history to win 50 games in November 2022.
Mara served temporarily as an Assistant to Player Development for the New York Rangers of the National Hockey League (NHL) in the 2023-24 season.
On December 3, 2023, Mara was namedas an assistant coach on the staff of the AHL’s Hartford Wolf Pack.
On May 1, 2026, Mara was fired from the Hartford Wolf Pack's staff, alongside head coach, Grant Potulny, and fellow assistant coach, Jamie Tardif.
Personal life Mara was born in Ridgewood, New Jersey, and despite his birthplace, he is of no relation to the family of Wellington Mara, who were known for their ownership of the NFL's New York Giants. Mara was raised in Belmont, Massachusetts.
His older brother, Rob Mara, was drafted by the Chicago Blackhawks in eleventh round of the 1994 NHL entry draft.
International play Mara was a member of the 1996–97, 1997–98, and 1998–99 United States World Junior Championship teams. He also played for the United States at the 2004 World Championships in Prague, Czech Republic and won the bronze medal.
Career statistics Regular season and playoffs Regular season Playoffs Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM 1994–95Belmont Hill SchoolHS-Prep285172228————— 1995–96Belmont Hill SchoolHS-Prep2818203840————— 1996–97Sudbury WolvesOHL449344361————— 1997–98Sudbury WolvesOHL258182679————— 1997–98Plymouth WhalersOHL258152330153141730 1998–99Plymouth WhalersOHL521341549511571228 1998–99Tampa Bay LightningNHL11120————— 1999–2000Detroit VipersIHL1535822————— 1999–2000Tampa Bay LightningNHL547111873————— 2000–01Detroit VipersIHL1033622————— 2000–01Tampa Bay LightningNHL466101640————— 2000–01Phoenix CoyotesNHL1604414————— 2001–02Phoenix CoyotesNHL75717245850004 2002–03Phoenix CoyotesNHL7310152578————— 2003–04Phoenix CoyotesNHL816364248————— 2004–05Hannover ScorpionsDEL355131889————— 2005–06Phoenix CoyotesNHL7815324770————— 2006–07Boston BruinsNHL593151895————— 2006–07New York RangersNHL19235181022418 2007–08New York RangersNHL6111617521001120 2008–09New York RangersNHL76516219471128 2009–10Montreal CanadiensNHL4208848————— 2010–11Anaheim DucksNHL3311240————— 2010–11Montreal CanadiensNHL200444810000 2012–13Ontario ReignECHL281171875————— 2012–13Houston AerosAHL361101189501118 NHL totals 734 64 189 253 776 33 3 4 7 50
International
Year Team Event Result GP G A Pts PIM 1997 United States WJC 6 0 0 0 0 1998 United States WJC 5th 7 1 1 2 6 1999 United States WJC 8th 6 1 4 5 22 2004 United States WC 9 1 2 3 8 Junior totals 19 2 5 7 28 Senior totals 9 1 2 3 8
References
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