It seems ludicrous to think that the Tampa Bay Lightning would move on from head coach Jon Cooper.
However, it has been discussed by outside media as a potential option, and with Tampa getting bounced in the first round for a third straight season after winning back-to-back Stanley Cups in 2020 and 2021, anything is possible.
As we saw when the Pittsburgh Penguins announced that they were relieving Mike Sullivan of his duties as head coach, Cooper would immediately become the top candidate for every team with a head coaching vacancy, as well as for teams with employed coaches.
He's that good of a coach.
The difference between the Penguins and Lightning is that Pittsburgh is rebuilding while Tampa is still very much in win-now mode, so it's more likely that Cooper would leave Tampa than than be shown the door.
Cooper has one more year left on his deal.
However, we did learn on Wednesday that Cooper may have interest in "taking over the operations" in Utah, given his relationship with Utah HC owner Ryan Smyth:
For those that don't know, Cooper, a native of British Columbia, graduated from Hofstra in 1989 with a Bachelor of Business Administration degree. He played four years of lacrosse and one year of ice hockey.
He used to attend many Islanders games at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum across Hempstead Turnpike.
If available, would Cooper be interested in coming back to the Island?
The New York Islanders are currently seeking a general manager after parting ways with Lou Lamoriello. Most general managers are allowed to hire their head coach, so it's not ideal for a team to hire a coach and then a GM.
That's why head coach Patrick Roy's future is still up in the air.
But what if the Islanders hired Mathieu Darche, the Lightning's Director of Hockey Operations and current assistant GM, who could bring Cooper along with him?
For those wondering if Darche would ever want to leave Tampa: He did interview for the Chicago Blackhawks GM job in February of 2022, per the Associated Press.
Most head coaches choose their staff, so another caveat to this is that Cooper's current assist coach, Jeff Halpern, played for the Washington Capitals when current Islanders owner Jon Ledecky was part of the ownership group.
Not to mention, Halpern and Darche did grow up together.
We'll see how Tampa elects to proceed with their coaching staff and upper management, but this is something to keep in the back -- the way back -- of your mind.
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