Lightning Quietly Extend Head Coach

The Tampa Bay Lightning will have their head coach around beyond this season, though it's been rather tight lipped.

Apr 3, 2025; Ottawa, Ontario, CAN; Tampa Bay Lightning Head coach Jon Cooper follows the action in the third period against the Ottawa Senators at the Canadian Tire Centre. Mandatory Credit: Marc DesRosiers-Imagn Images / Marc DesRosiers-Imagn Images

The Tampa Bay Lightning, who have become known for their rambunctious Stanley Cup celebrations, made a move to keep their 58-year-old head coach, Jon Cooper, on an extension sometime during the last handful of months.

Pierre Lebrun announced via his Twitter that the two-time Stanley Cup champion and 4 Nations Face-Off Champion would be around for a little longer, though nobody knows exactly how long that will be.

"With Kris Knoblauch and Ryan Huska having signed extensions, that leaves only Lindy Ruff among NHL head coaches entering the final year of their contract. Jon Cooper, without team announcement, quietly extended at some point over the past several months, not sure for how many years. But he's signed past this season," Lebrun shared.

With Kris Knoblauch and Ryan Huska having signed extensions, that leaves only Lindy Ruff among NHL head coaches entering the final year of their contract.
Jon Cooper, without team announcement, quietly extended at some point over the past several months, not sure for how many… https://t.co/yfmu3eSYbs

— Pierre LeBrun (@PierreVLeBrun) October 3, 2025

Cooper, has become one of the most respected coaches during his time with the Lightning, which started mid-way through the 2012-13 season, when he was hired by the team, after coaching the American Hockey League Syracuse Crunch, for the first half of the 2012-13 season, after spending two years with the Norfolk Admirals, the second of which he helped his squad to an AHL Championship.

Tampa, of course, had been the top dog in the league and didn't pay much attention to the Florida Panthers for a while, but the last few seasons have seen a shift. Florida, of course, has been the top dog, winning consecutive Stanley Cups, while Tampa has become the little brother.

"Two teams right in their prime, very competitive men,” Panthers coach Paul Maurice told NHL.com about the rivalry. “Tampa has had success, so it got nasty this year because of the playoffs last year and the fact that we're rivals, but we're also in the same place with our teams ... legitimate teams."

Apr 21, 2024; Sunrise, Florida, USA; Tampa Bay Lightning head coach Jon Cooper looks on from the bench against the Florida Panthers during the third period in game one of the first round of the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Amerant Bank Arena. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images / Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

Certainly, losing out to Florida in back-to-back playoffs has only increased the hatred between the two clubs, but with Cooper sticking around, for what is presumably another couple of years, he could be in the mix to push Tampa back into contention.

With much of their core still around, including Victor Hedman and Nikita Kucherov at the top, Tampa still has an open window to contend, and it's unlikely that they will become complacent and roll over just because the Panthers have bounced them around.

With goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy working towards a return for opening night, his return to practice earlier this week after missing time since mid-September due to an undisclosed issue is exactly the kind of news that Cooper has to love to hear.

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