Jon Cooper Receives Long Awaited Award

The future Hall of Famer adds a long awaited accolade

May 4, 2022; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Tampa Bay Lightning head coach Jon Cooper comes out of the dressing room to start game two of the first round of the 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs against the Toronto Maple Leafs at Scotiabank Arena. Mandatory Credit: John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images / John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images

Coaches have a hard job, they manage players, their own coaching staff, deal with the media, deal with the pressure from the front office, and have to know each of the people they come across with on a personal level (at least the great ones do). The man that leads the Tampa Bay Lightning bench represents that at an organizational level, and a national level as head coach of Team Canada.

But Jon Cooper has never been for himself, always for the team, the betterment of his players, community, staff, and all those he has come across. That notion seemingly made it's way to the National Media as Jon Cooper --widely regarded as one of the National Hockey League's best coaches-- had never been coach of the year.

Until Now.

SURPRISE! Your 2026 Jack Adams Award winner is none other than Tampa Bay Lightning head coach Jon Cooper, who was just surprised with the award here at the Coop’s Catch for Kids Cancer Lounge at @TGHCares.

Congrats to Coop for a well deserved recognition!#GoBolts pic.twitter.com/0JkOioVt3z

— Benjamin Pierce (@BenjaminJReport) June 3, 2026

Cooper was announced as the 2026 recipient of the Jack Adams Award, granted each season to the NHL coach “adjudged to have contributed the most to his team’s success." As voted by members of the NHL Broadcasters’ Association.

"Your ultimate goal is to win a Stanley Cup, and I think that's really why everybody's here. The Jack Adams is, when you take a step back and you look at everything that's gone on, there's other people that recognize, hey, you've done an okay job in your peer group. But ultimately for me, I think the coach is just a small part of it. You don't win it without a heck of a team and a goaltender and scorers and everybody to management and ownership. It's kind of what the whole thing is. It's an honor."

- Jon Cooper

#GoBolts coach Jon Cooper said the Jack Adams Award is about those around him, too:

"Your ultimate goal is to win a Stanley Cup, and I think that's really why everybody's here. The Jack Adams is, when you take a step back and you look at everything that's gone on, there's other… pic.twitter.com/9M4aX5xpJ6

— Benjamin Pierce (@BenjaminJReport) June 3, 2026

Cooper's award doesn't come in his best season as head coach of the Tampa Bay Lightning, but his most resilient, no matter how it ended. The Lightning dealt with numerous injuries, personal matters (Victor Hedman), and battled adversity every step of the way. Jon Cooper has instilled a culture in Tampa that allowed that to happen.

#GoBolts coach Jon Cooper arrived at TGH today for the ribbon-cutting for the new pediatric cancer family lounge his foundation is sponsoring. While here, he was surprised with news that he’s won his first Jack Adams Trophy for the #NHL’s best coach. pic.twitter.com/N3TAtHMSgo

— Eduardo A. Encina (@EddieInTheYard) June 3, 2026

Jon Cooper led the Bolts to a ninth consecutive playoff berth in 2025-26 with 50-26-6 record and 106 standings points that tied for fifth in the NHL. (Tampa's first 50-win season since 2021-22).

Cooper had this to say about Tampa's season:

“It was ups & downs during the season. You look back and you're like, 'Wow, you would have loved to spread a lot of that stuff out over years instead of what happened in the last eight months.' It's tough too, because my mom and dad are no longer with us, so they didn't get the opportunity to see this event, but they are definitely here with me now.”

- Jon Cooper

Jon Cooper on the #GoBolts season:

“It was ups & downs during the season. You look back and you're like, 'Wow, you would have loved to spread a lot of that stuff out over years instead of what happened in the last eight months.' It's tough too, because my mom and dad are no…

— Diandra Loux (@Diandra_loux) June 3, 2026

Cooper now adds the Jack Adams award to his decorated coaching resume of two Stanley Cup championships (2020, 2021), NHL All-Star Game appearances as head coach in 2018 and 2019, three Jack Adams Award finalist selections, a Calder Cup championship and the Louis A.R. Pieri Memorial Award in 2012, USHL Coach of the Year honors and a Clark Cup title in 2010, two Robertson Cup championships (2007, 2008), two NAHL Coach of the Year awards (2005, 2008), and a championship with Team Canada at the 2025 4 Nations Face-Off.

Cooper is a future Hall of Fame coach, and he will be the face of the Bolts for a long time, a burden he loves to carry and all the hard work that has went into being the face of the Bolts has finally paid off.

Congratulations Jon Cooper.