Tampa Bay Lightning keep the coaching staff intact for foreseeable future as Jon Cooper signs new extension

by Erik Erlendsson |  @Erik_Erlendsson |  Like us on Facebook
October 11, 2021

TAMPA – On the eve of the season opener, the Tampa Bay Lightning ensure continuity among the staff remains intact.

While a contract extension for Tampa Bay Lightning general manager Julien BriseBois was completed last month, the next step was to wrap up a new deal for the coaching staff, starting with head coach Jon Cooper, who was entering the final year of his deal.

Unlike Cooper’s last extension, this one was completed before the season started and not late in the year, as was the case in 2019.

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Cooper signed a three-year deal with the team on Monday, a deal that carries through the end of the 2024-25 season.

Hired by the team to replace Guy Boucher on March 25, 2013, Cooper is the longest tenured coach in the NHL and has been behind the bench for 634 games, posting an all-time record  384-197-53. In his eight years, his teams have made the playoffs seven times, making three Stanley Cup Final appearances, five Conference/semifinal appearances with two Stanley Cup titles.

Cooper’s point percentage of .657 is the second best in NHL history among coaches with at least 350 games coached behind only Hall of Famer Scotty Bowman. He is only the second coach in league history with at least 300 career wins in the first 500 games, joining Bruce Boudreau in that club when he recorded his 300th win on March 21, 2019.

While he has never won a Jack Adams Trophy as the top coach in the NHL, he has been named a finalist on two occasions, 2014 and 2019 when he led the Lightning to an NHL record tying 62 wins on the season.

“Unequivocally, Coop is the best person for the job,” said BriseBois. “He is a great leader, spokesperson and ambassador for our organization. We are lucky to have him as our head coach and I very much look forward to our continued partnership.”

Before being promoted to the Lightning, Cooper led the Norfolk Admirals – Tampa Bay’s affiliate in the American Hockey League at the time – to a Calder Cup championship in 2012, a season that included a 28-game winning streak to finish the regular season. He has also won titles in the USHL with the Green Bay Gamblers and in the North American Hockey League with the St. Louis Bandits.

Cooper also led Team Canada to a silver medal at the 2017 World Championships. He will be the head coach for Team Canada at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, China, in February.

“I’m just excited to be a part of this organization for a few more years and just continue to build on this standard that we’ve set,” Cooper said. “It’s the greatest place to work. I think enough’s been said about Jeff Vinik and how fabulous he is. And the relationship Julien and I have had for a number of years now. And Tampa is my home, so it’s great to be able to be back and be able to be here for a few more years.”

Cooper said the talks of an extension began a few days after the team won the Stanley Cup in July and it was never much of a concern it would not get done. But Cooper also wanted to ensure that his staff was also looked after and indicated that Rob Zettler, Derek Lalonde, Jeff Halpern, Frantz Jean, Nigel Kirwan and Brian Garlock also agreed to extensions as well.

“We’re all in this together,” Cooper said. “And the one thing about this was the announcement not be done until everybody was looked after and it looks like that’s happened.”

Tampa Bay opens their title defense and the quest for a three-peat on Tuesday hosting the Pittsburgh Penguins at 7:30 p.m. when the 2021 Stanley Cup championship banner will be raised.

Photo courtesy of Tampa Bay Lightning twitter

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