As the Tampa Bay Lightning kicked off their California road trip on Wednesday afternoon against the Anaheim Ducks, head coach Jon Cooper hit a major career milestone when the puck dropped. Cooper was given control of the Lightning toward the end of the 2012-13 season when the team relieved his predecessor Guy Boucher of his duties.12 years later, Cooper has now coached 1,000 career games in the NHL. Making that milestone even more meaningful, all 1,000 games have been spent behind the bench for the Lightning. Throughout his first 999 games, Cooper has a record of 594-319-86 and led the Lightning to two Stanley Cup Championships and two additional Eastern Conference Championships. It’s rare for a head coach to last such a long time in the NHL, let alone with the same organization. Typically, the message to the room eventually grows stale, or a new voice is needed to reinvigorate the group. That hasn’t been the case in Tampa Bay, though, as Cooper has found a way to outlast the majority of the players who have been in the organization during his stint. It remains to be seen how many more games Cooper will spend behind the bench in Tampa Bay, but it’s safe to say he’ll likely be around for quite a while longer.
