May we be among those offering our condolences to the #FireCooper crowd as it appears, for now, that Jon Cooper’s job in Tampa is safe. During his exit day address to the media, general manager Julien BriseBois confirmed that he has no plans to divest himself of the long-term Lightning head coach. Barring any unforeseen changes, Coach Cooper will be behind the Bolts’ bench for his 14th season (13th full-time) come this October.
There had been some speculation, fueled by non-Tampa media, that Coach Cooper might be on his way out of the only organization he’s ever coached for, and on his way west to join Mikhail Sergachev in Salt Lake City. The two-time Stanley Cup winner does have a connection with Utah’s owner, Ryan Smith, but his connection with Mr. BriseBois goes even deeper. Both the GM and the head coach were quick to squash those rumors when speaking with the media last week.
Of course, as is the case in these days of instant information and social media, the gap between Brooksie’s haphazard ruminations and the chance for the Lightning duo to respond was filled with speculations (and hope from other franchises’ fan bases as to where Coop might end up going). Would he want to go home to British Columbia and coach the Canucks? What about the Rangers (Mike Sullivan took care of that)? Maybe the Penguins (eww)? How about the Ducks? Honestly, that last one would be intriguing.
In the end it was all a lot of noise that signified nothing. Coach Cooper is staying in Tampa. How long he stays is still up for debate. The accepted wisdom is that he has one more year left on his current deal. Neither gentleman would confirm that to the gathered press, but Mr. BriseBois stated his hope that the coach would be around for “awhile”.
“He will be back because, A, he’s an outstanding coach. Two, more importantly, he’s the best coach for this job. Three, I really enjoy working with him. I am appreciative and grateful for our partnership, and I expect it to go on for many years to come, regardless of how many years he’s got left on his contract. When this contract ends, my expectation is he’s gonna sign another one and he’s going to be here for a while.”
The two are definitely ride-or-die. Mr. BriseBois brought him into the organization when he hired him to be the head coach in Norfolk, so he’ll always be tied to him. However, we also know that the GM has a little ruthlessness in him. He didn’t let sentimentality get in the way of keeping a franchise icon in Steven Stamkos. If, and when, he thinks Cooper isn’t the right guy for the job, he won’t let that relationship stop him from making the decision.
It could be up to Coach Cooper how long he stays. That rarely happens with coaches. Just about all of them are hired to be fired at some point (the same goes for general managers). With Cooper, things might be different though. If he wants to leave after his current deal is up, no one is going to fault him. He has done everything a franchise can ask for (except win a Jack Adams Trophy). If he needs a new challenge, so be it.
That being said, there is a nobility to hanging with one franchise. He has a With 961 games under his belt, he’s looking at the possibility of coaching 1,000 games with one franchise. Only four men have done that in NHL history – Al Arbour (1500 – New York Islanders), Lindy Ruff (1,247 – Buffalo Sabres), Barry Trotz (1196 – Nashville Predators), and Billy Reay (964 -Chicago Blackhawks). To stay with one team for that many games is a tremendous feat, especially in this day in age when a coach is only as good as the last game he directed.
He can also become just the third head coach to win 600 games with one franchise. Arbour (740) and Ruff (507) are the only ones ahead of him. He has 572 wins under his belt right now. Scotty Bowman holds the record for most wins in a coach’s first 1,000 games with 598. That number is well within Cooper’s grasp.
The Lightning normally eschew personal glory for team success. Well, with a head coach, the pursuit of victories tends to lead success for the franchise. So, for now, Mr. BriseBois’ loyalty to Coach Cooper coincides with his chase for glory.
Speaking of loyalty, how rare is it for one person to stick around with an organization for this long? Well, let’s look at the current coaching tenures in the NHL. Cooper is the longest tenured coach having coached his first game with the Lightning in March of 2013. Behind him is Colorado’s Jared Bednar who started in August of 2016. Rod Brind’Amour is third with 534 games behind the Carolina bench having assumed the reins in May of 2018. Guess who is fourth. We’ll give you a moment.
.
..
…
Martin St. Louis. Yup. Hired in February of 2022, Marty St. Louis and his 283 games is the fourth-longest tenured coach in the NHL. Twenty-eight franchises have flipped coaches at least one time in the last three seasons. That’s an insanely high amount of turnover for any sport, but especially for hockey.
As for the idea that perhaps Cooper’s message has gotten stale over the years, well, there are quite a few folks in the locker room that have only been around for a few seasons. Eleven players have been in Tampa for two years or fewer. Based on the current roster, only 8 players were on the Lightning’s last Cup team, and those players include a Hart Finalist (Kucherov), Vezina Finalist (Vasilevskiy), Selke Finalist (Cirelli), and two defensemen who will likely receive more than a handful of Norris Trophy votes (Hedman and McDonagh). It seems there are plenty of players in the locker room still giving their best efforts.
While parting ways with Coach Cooper seems like a sensible solution for a team that has not lived up to expectations over the past three years, there is another part of the equation that has to be considered. Who would replace him? Do the Lightning go with a retread coach that is currently out of a job because they couldn’t win with their previous team? Do they go with a new hire that’s an unproven commodity? Changing coaches doesn’t always lead to success, and sometimes teams are left wishing they hadn’t made the move.
If we know anything about the Lightning GM, it’s that he analyzes all possible outcomes before making a decision. There is a pretty good chance that he’s gone down the wormhole of what the organization would look like without Coach Cooper, and has likely decided that path isn’t one he want’s to go down at this point.
Is it the right decision? That’s the joy of sports, we don’t know the answer. If the Lightning win the Stanley Cup next season, keeping Coach Cooper was the right move. If they don’t make the playoffs, maybe they didn’t. Mr. BriseBois believes Coach Cooper is the best solution for this team right now. If the team struggles next season, that could change.
This isn’t the first time these two gentlemen have found themselves at a crossroads together. There was a pretty strong sentiment that Coach Cooper should have been sacked for the 2018-19 playoff disaster. His GM kept faith in him and it paid off with back-to-back Stanley Cup wins. They pushed the right buttons to change their fortunes and turn a good-but-can’t-get-over-the-hump team into a short-term dynasty.
Can they do it again? Both have proven that they can adapt their ways. Mr. BriseBois doesn’t assemble a team like he did when he first took over, and Coach Cooper doesn’t lead his charges in the same manner. We’ll see how they change their styles once again as the retooling process continues on. Should it not work out next season, chances are the hot seat is turned up on both of them.
