SUNRISE, Fla. — Sometime in June 2022, Andrew Brunette turned down a front office job with the Florida Panthers.

Two months prior, he had led them to their first Presidents' Trophy and the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs. Brunette — who settled the ship that had been rocked after Joel Quenneville resigned amid scandal in October 2021 — seemed on the verge of being elevated from interim to head coach.

But the Panthers pivoted, and on June 22, they hired Paul Maurice as their new coach.

The Panthers' front office reportedly wanted to keep Brunette on staff, offering him an undisclosed role in the organization. Those close to the situation have said he was offered an assistant general manager role with the club.

But Brunette was convinced he was ready for an NHL head coaching job. After a one-year stint in New Jersey as assistant coach with the Devils, he accepted the job as head coach of the Nashville Predators on May 31, 2023.

Andrew Brunette returns to Florida as coach of Predators

On Thursday, Brunette visited Amerant Bank Arena for the first time as coach of the Predators, a return he said was "bittersweet in different ways."

"This (place) sticks with you," he said before the Predators defeated the Panthers 3-0. "I enjoyed every day I was here."

But when asked about the Panthers' choice to hire Maurice, Brunette admitted it was hard to accept.

"It was obviously heartbreaking," he said. "I loved that group. But, kind of like a player, they don't want you anymore, so you move on."

Brunette said his decision to turn down the Panthers' offer was about pursuing a head coaching position. He also said he doesn't spend much time thinking about what could have been in Florida.

"Unfortunately there's circumstances you can't control," he said. "You try your best with it, but you move on."

Brunette's role in Florida would have hidden his true talents

The skill sets required to be a coach and a general manager are quite different. Brunette knows this because he has done both. He was an assistant general manager in Minnesota under Paul Fenton in 2018. He left after only one season to become Quenneville's assistant coach in Florida.

It's a bit puzzling why the Panthers even believed a front office role would interest Brunette. Based on how quickly he left the job in Minnesota, and how successful he was with the Panthers, it should have been obvious he preferred coaching.

Leaving Florida meant betting on himself, knowing the right opportunity would eventually come along.

"He is as good of an offensive teacher and power-play coach as there is in the game today," first-year general manager Barry Trotz said of the hire. "He will be great with our young players, and I know, because of his background as a player, he will connect well with our top, skilled players."

In other words, Trotz knew Brunette belonged behind the bench, not behind a desk.

So far, Brunette is a hit. He has transformed a "rebuilding" team into a playoff contender. His system has unleashed core veterans like Filip Forsberg, Roman Josi, and Gustav Nyquist, while also maximizing the growth of young players like Tommy Novak and Luke Evangelista. The team is in solid standing for a wild-card spot in the playoffs.

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If Brunette stuck around in Florida, he wouldn't be working on the Panthers' power play, running video sessions with the forwards or strategizing how to beat the Boston Bruins. He would be talking to scouts, drawing up contracts and analyzing long-term goals. Maybe that pivotal trade with Calgary still happens — the one that sent Matthew Tkachuk to Florida — or maybe it doesn't.

By saying "thanks, but no thanks" to the Panthers, Brunette doubled down on what he knows is his true calling.

And judging by his early success in Nashville — and yes, it's very early — he should feel vindicated in that decision.

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This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Andrew Brunette's desire to coach was Predators' win, Florida's loss