The Tampa Bay Lightning have signed head coach Jon Cooper to a three-year contract extension through the 2024-25 season today. Vice president and general manager Julien BriseBois announced the news this morning. “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” said Brisebois after the signing.
Three more years of Cooooop!
We have signed head coach Jon Cooper to a three-year contract extension through the 2024-25 season.
📝 https://t.co/lPCyZZoPaN pic.twitter.com/vKu6J4jl68
— Tampa Bay Lightning (@TBLightning) October 11, 2021
Jon Cooper Signs Extension with Tampa Bay
Jon Cooper has only known success since taking over as the Lightning bench boss back in 2013. He was named head coach late in that 2013 campaign after former coach Guy Boucher was fired following a 5-3 loss to the Senators on March 24. Since taking over, Cooper has amassed a 383-197-53 record and his .647 points percentage is the highest in the history of the organization.
His list of accolades with the club is nothing short of impressive. He has led the Lightning to five Eastern Conference Final/Stanley Cup Semifinal appearances over the past seven seasons, three trips to the Stanley Cup final, back-to-back Cup wins in 2020 and 2021. He will also serve as the head coach for Team Canada at the upcoming 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, China.
What This Means for the Future
Cooper is currently the longest-tenured bench boss in the NHL and he will look to extend that streak with the continued success of his Tampa Bay club. Tampa Bay move back into a top-heavy Atlantic division where they will have their work cut out for them if they look to make a run at their third Stanley Cup final in a row. Cooper has the luxury of having most of last year’s cup-winning roster returning this season and, most importantly, a healthy Nikita Kucherov to start the year with.
The Tampa Bay Lightning open their title defence tomorrow, October 12, at home, against the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Main Photo: Embed from Getty Images
