The Sports Club of Tampa Bay held its annual Hall of Fame Ceremony on Wednesday night. Among the new inductees was Tampa Bay Lightning head coach Jon Cooper.
“What's special about Tampa? This is what's special," Cooper said in his speech. "It’s all of you. For me and my family, this is all I’ve ever known. This is all my kids have ever known.”
Cooper was hired by the Lightning in March 2013, a move that changed the trajectory of the organization. He is the longest-tenured coach in the NHL and has coached the Lightning to four Stanley Cup Finals, with two of those ending in back-to-back Stanley Cups in 2020 and 2021. During his time as head coach, the Lightning have missed the postseason only once.
“I couldn't imagine being anywhere else. This is the first place I was fortunate enough to be hired,” Cooper told reporters at the event. “I've poured my heart into this team, into this city, and the city's given everything back to me and more. It'd be pretty difficult for me to wear any other color than Lightning blue.”
Cooper has given a lot back to the Tampa Bay community, including through his annual charity event, 'Coop’s Catch for Kids', which raises thousands of dollars each year for pediatric cancer research.
“You’re inspired by this town and community to give them everything and it's been a marriage made in heaven for me," said Cooper. "I hope it's 12 more years.”
Jon Cooper Forced to Address Rumours of Being Fired from the Tampa Bay Lightning
Jon Cooper's future in Tampa Bay has been unclear in recent times, but now, he has made his stance firm on remaining loyal to the Lightning organization.
The Tampa Bay Lightning were once again eliminated in the first-round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs in 2025, and that's raised plenty of questions about their core group and the future of the organization.
That has included Head Coach Jon Cooper as well, with Larry Brooks of the New York Post among others reporting that Cooper could look to leave the Lightning once his current contract officially runs out.
Cooper's current deal is over after the 2025/26 campaign, and given that he's very close friends with Utah Mammoth owner Ryan Smith, it's no surprise that they're the team he's already been closely linked too, with many reporters and analysts seeing it as a matter of when, not if that happens.
As a result of all this speculation, Cooper has now come out and committed to the Lightning for years to come, and while he's not made it official with a contract extension, he was very clear with his wording.
Contrary to rumours and whatever's going on out there, I'm never leaving you guys.
While coaches and players can often say things like this and still end up leaving, Cooper has been in Tampa Bay with the Lightning for well over a decade now, and given the success and how comfortable everyone is with the current situation, it would make sense for them to continue this relationship.
For now, Cooper's contract runs through to the end of the 2025/26 season, and while he's pledged his loyalty to the organization for now, it's only at the end of next year that we will find out his true intentions as he may be the best Head Coach to hit the open market in a long, long time.
