Lightning head coach Jon Cooper reached a new milestone Dec. 31, coaching his 1,000th NHL game. The team will officially celebrate Tuesday night, when the Lightning host the Colorado Avalanche at Benchmark International Arena.
Cooper has been behind the Lightning bench since March 25, 2013, when he was promoted from the Syracuse Crunch with 16 games left in the 2012–13 season. Since then, he’s led Tampa Bay to two Stanley Cup titles in 2020 and 2021 and four trips to the Stanley Cup Final. He became the 32nd coach in NHL history to hit 1,000 games, and the fifth to do so with one franchise.
“Honestly, he's such a great coach,” said Lightning forward Yanni Gourde, who returned to Tampa during last year's trade deadline. “Leaving and coming back makes you realize even more how next-level his coaching ability is. How much he trusts his coaching staff, and how much he trusts every single one of us in this organization. It's really fun to have someone like that coach you.”
Players often point to Cooper’s attention to detail, noting how well he reads the room and adjusts to how they feel in any situation, perfecting the balance between when to push them and when to pull back.
“He hasn’t changed much, which I think is a great thing,” said goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy. “He’s been consistent for so many years, from game one to 1,000. He’s always finding the right words, before the game and during the game—just having that motivation for the players means a lot. Pressure or no pressure, he’s the same Coop I’ve known for twelve years now.”
Vasilevskiy has always shared a strong relationship with Cooper, trusting his judgment when it comes to managing his workload. Together, over the years, they’ve adjusted Vasilevskiy’s starts as needed, though he reiterated he’d like to play all 82 games.
“He gave me the choice, but I’d rather him decide what I play and what I don’t,” Vasilevskiy said with a smile. “I’ve told him many times that I’ll play all 82."
For Brandon Hagel, Cooper’s support makes players want to win even more, highlighting the people he surrounds himself with and how he always has his players’ backs.
“Look at what he’s done,” Hagel said. “He’s very level-headed. I mean, he’s coached 1,000 games with the same team. You can lose a dressing room pretty quick … 95 percent of these guys have only had Coop as their coach, and he’s still here. I’m very fortunate to have him on my side throughout my career. He’s only made me a better player. He treats everyone with respect.”
It hasn’t just been about winning; Cooper has also experienced his share of highs and lows. He led the Lightning to the Stanley Cup Final in 2015 against the Chicago Blackhawks, only to come up short. Later, they suffered a first-round sweep to Columbus during the Lightning’s Presidents’ Trophy-winning season in 2018–19. That loss stung, and the city was in an uproar.
“I will sit here and say I don’t think there’s anyone more fortunate than me that in 2013 I was called upon to coach this team,” said Cooper. “Just to have this whole group that gave me the ability to succeed, but allowed me to fail. Not too many people are afforded that, and I was. And I’m extremely thankful.”
Off the ice, Cooper has become a mainstay in the Tampa Bay community, founding the J5 Foundation alongside his wife, Jessie. His Coop’s Catch fishing tournament has raised $1.5 million for pediatric cancer research and support, with this year being the largest yet.
“The one thing that I can’t ever forget is the fans of Tampa, because they were part of this and they’ve watched us grow,” Cooper said after his 1,000th game. “They’ve been with us through the ups and downs, and in the end they’ve just got the team at heart. And I think it’s just one big family. And I’m just unbelievably fortunate to be able to call Tampa my home. It’s all my kids know and it’s family, and this is, it’s a humbling moment for me. Not gonna lie.”