It’s about time. After 13 full NHL seasons serving as the Tampa Bay Lightning head coach, including two Stanley Cup championships and four Stanley Cup Final appearances, Jon Cooper can finally say that he has won a Jack Adams Award, awarded to the coach of the year, selected by the NHL Broadcasters’ Association at the end of the regular season.
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IT’S ABOUT TIME 👏
Jon Cooper is your 2026 Jack Adams Award Winner! pic.twitter.com/YucF9LmCfv
— Tampa Bay Lightning (@TBLightning) June 3, 2026
Jon Cooper Wins Jack Adams Award After 13 Seasons With Lightning
It is a surprise that the NHL’s longest-tenured head coach had not won a Jack Adams Award before, despite his long-term success with the team and his prior nominations in 2014 and also 2019, when his team had a record of 62-16-4. He began his hockey coaching career in 1999, and was practicing law before that. His entire NHL coaching career has been with just one team, the Tampa Bay Lightning. He took over in the 2012-13 season, when Guy Boucher was dismissed as head coach. Cooper joins current John Tortorella as the only Lightning coaches to win the award. The other two nominees this year were Dan Muse of the Pittsburgh Penguins and Lindy Ruff of the Buffalo Sabres.
Cooper led his team to a ninth consecutive Stanley Cup Playoff appearance with a 50-26-6 record this season. He did so despite losing Victor Hedman for long stretches of time this season, as he only played 33 games. The team ranked in the top five in the NHL in goals for, goals against, and the penalty kill. Very impressive, considering they were missing their top defenceman.
The Lightning announced the news on Wednesday when Cooper was given the award at Tampa General Hospital, to his surprise. He was at the hospital today to cut the ribbon and oversee the opening of the new Coop’s Catch for Kids Family Lounge that will benefit pediatric cancer patients and their loved ones. The charity has raised over $1 million since its inception.
Now, the question is, was this truly the year he deserved it the most? In any case, this was a long-overdue award for Cooper to win.
Main Photo Credit: James Carey Lauder-USA TODAY Sports
