Jonathan D. Cooper (born August 23, 1967) is a Canadian-American professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice ...

coach who is the head coach for the

Tampa Bay Lightning The Tampa Bay Lightning (colloquially known as the Bolts) are a professional ice hockey team based in Tampa, Florida. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. They play ...

of the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey sports league, league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranke ...

(NHL). Cooper won back-to-back

Stanley Cup The Stanley Cup (french: La Coupe Stanley) is the championship trophy awarded annually to the National Hockey League (NHL) playoff champion. It is the oldest existing trophy to be awarded to a professional sports franchise in North America, an ...

championships in

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global social and economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, worldwide lockdowns and the largest economic recession since the Great Depression in t ...

and

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October 2021 coup in Sudan; Crowd shortly after t ...

as the Lightning head coach, and is currently the longest-tenured coach in the NHL.

Early life

Cooper was born in Prince George,

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, for ...

. He played high school hockey at Notre Dame in

Wilcox Wilcox may refer to: Places ;Canada *Wilcox, Saskatchewan ;United States *Wilcox, Florida, an unincorporated community in Gilchrist County, Florida * Wilcox, Missouri * Wilcox, Nebraska *Wilcox, Pennsylvania * Wilcox, Washington * Wilcox, Wisconsin ...

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada, western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and on t ...

. He graduated with a

Bachelor of Business Administration Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) is a bachelor's degree in business administration awarded by colleges and universities after completion of undergraduate study in the fundamentals of business administration and usually including advanced ...

from

Hofstra University Hofstra University is a private university in Hempstead, New York. It is Long Island's largest private university. Hofstra originated in 1935 as an extension of New York University (NYU) under the name Nassau College – Hofstra Memorial of New ...

in 1989. Despite his prior

lacrosse Lacrosse is a team sport played with a lacrosse stick and a lacrosse ball. It is the oldest organized sport in North America, with its origins with the indigenous people of North America as early as the 12th century. The game was extensiv ...

experience being that of the box variety, he was a field lacrosse letterman in each of the first four years of

John Danowski John Danowski (born March 12, 1954) is an American college lacrosse coach who has been the head coach of the Duke Blue Devils men's lacrosse team since the 2007 season. Previously, he had spent 21 seasons as the head coach at Hofstra. Danowski c ...

's tenure as the varsity program's head coach. An attackman who eventually transitioned into a midfielder, Cooper scored 74 goals with 25 assists for 99 points and was a member of

East Coast Conference The East Coast Conference (ECC) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division II level. Member institutions are located in the northeastern United States in the states of C ...

championship teams as a junior and senior. He also played one year of club

hockey Hockey is a term used to denote a family of various types of both summer and winter team sports which originated on either an outdoor field, sheet of ice, or dry floor such as in a gymnasium. While these sports vary in specific rules, numbers o ...

during his time at Hofstra. He graduated from

Thomas M. Cooley Law School Western Michigan University Cooley Law School ("Cooley") is a private law school in Lansing, Michigan and Riverview, Florida. It was established in 1972. At its peak in 2010, Cooley had over 3,900 students and was the largest US law school by enr ...

Lansing Lansing () is the capital of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is mostly in Ingham County, although portions of the city extend west into Eaton County and north into Clinton County. The 2020 census placed the city's population at 112,644, maki ...

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and t ...

. Cooper practiced law for five years and was a public defender off and on for two years while also maintaining his private practice. Cooper started playing hockey again while attending law school, ultimately leading to his first experience coaching hockey at Lansing Catholic High School.

Coaching career

Junior teams

Cooper began his coaching career in 1999–2000 with Lansing Catholic High School and led the team to its first regional hockey championship in 25 years. The following season (2000–01) he served as an assistant with the Capital Centre Pride of the

North American Hockey League The North American Hockey League (NAHL) is one of the top junior hockey leagues in the United States and is in its 48th season of operation in 2022–23. It is the only Tier II junior league sanctioned by USA Hockey, and acts as an alterna ...

, the only time during his coaching career Cooper was an assistant. During the 2001–02 season, Cooper was the head coach of the Metro Jets in the North American 3 Hockey League and led the Jets to the Silver Cup – the USA Hockey National Junior B Championship. In 2002–03, Cooper coached the Honeybaked Midget Major AAA team. In 2003, Cooper returned to the

(NAHL) to coach the expansion Texarkana Bandits. In 2004–05 he was named the NAHL Coach of the Year after leading the Bandits to a 36-15-5 record. Cooper continued with the Bandits franchise when it relocated to St. Louis in 2006–07. During the 2006–07 season, the Bandits captured the Robertson Cup as league champion. The following season the Bandits would once again capture the Robertson Cup. Additionally, Cooper won his second NAHL Coach of the Year that season. Cooper spent a total of five seasons coaching in the NAHL before moving on to coach the

Green Bay Gamblers The Green Bay Gamblers are a Tier I junior ice hockey team in the Eastern Conference of the United States Hockey League (USHL). They play in Ashwaubenon, Wisconsin, at the Resch Center. History Professional hockey in Green Bay The first profes ...

of the

United States Hockey League The United States Hockey League (USHL) is the top junior ice hockey league sanctioned by USA Hockey. The league consists of 16 active teams located in the midwestern United States, for players between the ages of 16 and 21. The USHL is stric ...

. In his five seasons coaching the Bandits franchise in the NAHL, Cooper compiled an overall record of 198-74-18. Cooper was the coach of the

(USHL)'s

starting in 2008. He led the team in 2008–09 and 2009–10 to a combined record of 84–27–9. In 2010, the team won the

Clark Cup The United States Hockey League began in 1961 as a semi-professional ice hockey league. Starting with the 1979–80 season, the league became a strictly Amateur league, and began awarding its champion the Clark Cup Trophy. All champions of the USHL ...

for the League's championship and Cooper was named USHL Coach of the Year. He is the only coach to win a championship in all three tiers of junior hockey in the United States.

Pro hockey

In 2010, Cooper was hired by the

to coach the

Norfolk Admirals Norfolk Admirals has been the name of two professional ice hockey franchises: *Norfolk Admirals (AHL), a team which played in the American Hockey League from 2000 to 2015 *Norfolk Admirals (ECHL) The Norfolk Admirals are a professional ice hocke ...

, the team's

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). Since the 2010–11 season, every team in the lea ...

(AHL) affiliate. During the 2011–12 season, the Admirals won the

Calder Cup The Calder Cup is the trophy awarded annually to the playoff champions of the American Hockey League. It was first presented in 1937 to the Syracuse Stars. The cup is made of sterling silver mounted on a base of Brazilian mahogany. In its curr ...

as the AHL's champions. The Admirals also set a North American professional sports record for the longest regular season winning streak at 28 games in a row. Additionally, Cooper won the 2012

Louis A. R. Pieri Memorial Award The Louis A. R. Pieri Memorial Award is an American Hockey League (AHL) trophy awarded annually to the most outstanding coach during the season, as voted upon by members of the AHL media. The award is named for Louis Pieri, a long-time contributo ...

as the AHL's most outstanding head coach. For the 2012–13 season, Cooper became the head coach of the Syracuse Crunch after the Lightning changed their AHL affiliation. In 65 games with the Crunch, Cooper led the team to a 39–18–3–5 record, the best in the AHL at the time of his promotion.

Tampa Bay Lightning

On March 25, 2013, following the dismissal of head coach

Guy Boucher Guy Boucher (born August 3, 1971) is a former Canadian professional ice hockey coach. Boucher is the former head coach of the Tampa Bay Lightning and Ottawa Senators of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was also the head coach of SC Bern in ...

, the Tampa Bay Lightning announced that Cooper would become head coach. After leading the Lightning to their best season in franchise history in points (108) and wins (50), Cooper coached the

to their second

Prince of Wales Trophy The Prince of Wales Trophy, also known as the Wales Trophy, is a team award presented by the National Hockey League (NHL). Named for Prince Edward, Prince of Wales (later King Edward VIII and then Duke of Windsor), it has been awarded for diffe ...

as the Eastern Conference champion. The Lightning lost to the

Chicago Blackhawks The Chicago Blackhawks (spelled Black Hawks until 1986, and known colloquially as the Hawks) are a professional ice hockey team based in Chicago. The Blackhawks compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Divisio ...

in six games in the 2015 Stanley Cup Final. On March 22, 2016, Cooper recorded his 143rd win as the Lightning's head coach. The win moved Cooper past

Terry Crisp Terrance Arthur Crisp (born May 28, 1943) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey coach and player. Crisp played ten seasons in the National Hockey League for the Boston Bruins, St. Louis Blues, New York Islanders and Philadelphia Flyers be ...

for second all-time in wins in franchise history. On November 8, 2017, Cooper recorded his 200th career win as head coach of the Lightning. Cooper joined

John Tortorella John Francis Tortorella (born June 24, 1958) is an American professional ice hockey coach and former player. He currently serves as the head coach of the Philadelphia Flyers of the National Hockey League (NHL). Tortorella was previously the head ...

as the only coaches in franchise history to record 200 wins. On January 7, 2018, Cooper was named as head coach of the Atlantic Division for the 63rd National Hockey League All-Star Game, which was played at

Amalie Arena Amalie Arena (officially stylized as AMALIE Arena) is a multipurpose arena in Tampa, Florida, that has been used for ice hockey, basketball, arena football, concerts, and other events. It is mainly used as the home for the Tampa Bay Lightni ...

Tampa, Florida Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and the seat of Hillsborough ...

. The selection was because the Lightning were the team with the highest points percentage in the Atlantic Division. On March 30, 2018, Cooper recorded his 240th career NHL win against the

New York Rangers The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The team plays its ho ...

Madison Square Garden Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as The Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh and Eighth avenues from 31st to 33rd Street, above Pennsylv ...

. The win moved Cooper past John Tortorella for most wins in franchise history. On January 5, 2019, Cooper was named to the

2019 National Hockey League All-Star Game The 2019 National Hockey League All-Star Game was held at SAP Center in San Jose, home of the San Jose Sharks on January 26, 2019. San Jose last held the NHL All Star Game in 1997. This was the fourth consecutive All-Star Game that used a four-te ...

. This was Cooper's second consecutive selection to the NHL All-Star game. On March 18, 2019, Cooper coached the Lightning to their first

Presidents' Trophy The Presidents' Trophy (french: Trophée des présidents) is an award presented by the National Hockey League (NHL) to the team that finishes with the most points (i.e. best record) during the NHL regular season. If two teams are tied for the mo ...

in franchise history with a victory over the visiting

Arizona Coyotes The Arizona Coyotes are a professional ice hockey team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Coyotes compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference and currently play at the Mu ...

. On March 21, 2019, Cooper recorded his 300th career NHL win in a 6–3 Lightning win over the

Carolina Hurricanes The Carolina Hurricanes (colloquially known as the Canes) are a professional ice hockey team based in Raleigh, North Carolina. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conferenc ...

PNC Arena PNC Arena (originally Raleigh Entertainment & Sports Arena and formerly the RBC Center) is an indoor arena located in Raleigh, North Carolina. The arena seats 18,680 for ice hockey and 19,722 for basketball, including 61 suites, 13 loge boxes ...

. On March 26, 2019, Cooper signed a multi-year contract extension to remain as the head coach of the Lightning. On April 1, 2019, Cooper coached the Lightning to their 60th win of the season. With the win, the Lightning became only the 3rd team in NHL history to reach the mark and Cooper became the second coach in NHL history to coach a team to 60 wins, joining

Scotty Bowman William Scott Bowman, OC (born September 18, 1933) is a Canadian former National Hockey League (NHL) head coach. He holds the record for most wins in league history, with 1,244 wins in the regular season and 223 in the Stanley Cup playoffs and ...

. Tampa Bay would go on to win 62 games during the 2018-19 regular season, tying the 1995-96 Detroit Red Wings for the most wins in a season in NHL history. The Lightning that season were swept in the first round by the Columbus Blue Jackets, making them the first team to win the Presidents' Trophy and not win a single post-season game in the same year. On September 28, 2020, Cooper led the Lightning to franchise's second

, when they beat the

Dallas Stars The Dallas Stars are a professional ice hockey team based in Dallas. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference, and were founded during the 1967 NHL expansion as the Minne ...

in six games. Cooper stated after the win that the team drew inspiration from the

Virginia Cavaliers men's basketball The Virginia Cavaliers men's basketball team is the intercollegiate men's basketball program representing the University of Virginia. The school competes in the Atlantic Coast Conference in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Associa ...

program. Similar to the Lightning's playoff defeat in 2019, top-seeded Virginia was defeated in their opening game by a 16th seed in the 2018 national tournament, the first such occurrence of a 16 vs. 1 upset in the history of the

NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament The NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, branded as NCAA March Madness and commonly called March Madness, is a single-elimination tournament played each spring in the United States, currently featuring 68 college basketball teams fro ...

. One year later, Virginia won the national championship. On May 30, 2021, Cooper coached the Lightning to a 2–1 win over the

in his 100th career NHL playoff game. On July 7, 2021, Cooper led the reigning champions to the Lightning's third

when they beat the

Montreal Canadiens The Montreal CanadiensEven in English, the French spelling is always used instead of ''Canadians''. The French spelling of ''Montréal'' is also sometimes used in the English media. (french: link=no, Les Canadiens de Montréal), officially ...

in five games. Cooper was the first coach to win back-to-back Stanley Cups since Mike Sullivan accomplished this feat with the

Pittsburgh Penguins The Pittsburgh Penguins (colloquially known as the Pens) are a professional ice hockey team based in Pittsburgh. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division of the Eastern Conference, and have playe ...

winning in 2016 and 2017. On December 9, 2021, Cooper recorded his 400th career win in a victory over the

Toronto Maple Leafs The Toronto Maple Leafs (officially the Toronto Maple Leaf Hockey Club and often referred to as the Leafs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Div ...

Scotiabank Arena Scotiabank Arena (French: ''Aréna Scotiabank)'', formerly known as Air Canada Centre (ACC), is a multi-purposed arena located on Bay Street in the South Core district of Downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is the home of the Toronto Rapt ...

. Cooper set the record for the least amount of games coached to reach 400 wins in NHL history, which came in his 659th game. On April 1, 2022, Cooper coached in his 700th career NHL game. His 426 wins at the time of reaching the milestone are the most in NHL history among head coaches through their first 700 games.

International

On November 13, 2015, Team North America general manager, Peter Chiarelli, named Cooper as an assistant coach for the

2016 World Cup of Hockey The 2016 World Cup of Hockey (abbreviated WCH2016) was an international ice hockey tournament. It was the third installment of the National Hockey League (NHL)-sanctioned competition, 12 years after the second World Cup of Hockey in 2004. It was ...

under Team North America head coach

Todd McLellan Todd Andrew McLellan (born October 3, 1967) is a Canadian professional ice hockey coach and former player. He is the current head coach of the Los Angeles Kings of the National Hockey League (NHL). He previously served as head coach of the San Jo ...

. On April 11, 2017, Hockey Canada named Cooper as the head coach of Canada's men's national ice hockey team for the

2017 IIHF World Championship The 2017 IIHF World Championship, the 2017 edition of the annual Ice Hockey World Championships, was held from 5 to 21 May 2017 in Cologne, Germany and Paris, France. The official tournament mascots were Asterix and Obelix, the main characters ...

tournament. Cooper was joined by assistant coaches Gerard Gallant,

Dave Hakstol David Hakstol (born July 30, 1968) is a Canadian ice hockey coach, currently serving as the head coach of the Seattle Kraken of the National Hockey League (NHL). A native of Warburg, Alberta, Hakstol was the head coach for Sioux City Musketeers ...

, and Dave King. On May 21, 2017, Cooper coached Team Canada to a silver medal. Team Canada lost to Team Sweden 2–1 in a shootout. On August 9, 2021, Cooper was named head coach of Team Canada for the 2022 Olympic Winter Games in Beijing but ultimately did not participate due to the NHL pulling out of the competition because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Personal life

Cooper is a dual citizen of the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

and Canada. Cooper's mother was American, while his father was Canadian. Growing up, Cooper's family were fans of the

. Cooper and his wife Jessie have twin daughters and a son. On September 16, 2016, the creation of the annual Coop's Catch for Kids charity fishing tournament was announced in partnership with the V Foundation. The tournament's purpose is for benefiting pediatric cancer research at

Moffitt Cancer Center Houston Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute is a nonprofit cancer treatment and research center located in Tampa, Florida. Established in 1981 by the Florida Legislature, the hospital opened in October 1986 on the University of Sout ...

and

All Children's Hospital Johns Hopkins All Children's Hospital, formerly All Children's Hospital, is a pediatric acute care children's hospital located in St. Petersburg, Florida. The hospital has 259 beds and is affiliated with the USF Morsani College of Medicine and ...

. Each year, anglers are treated to an exciting day of fishing and fundraising alongside Lightning players and coaches. The annual catch-and-release inshore grand slam tournament pairs Lightning celebrities on a guided boat with two participants. The inaugural event was held on October 11, 2016 and to date has raised over $750,000.

Head coaching record

NHL

* – mid-season replacement

AHL

* – promoted to Tampa Bay on March 25, 2013

Coaching honors

(NHL): , *

(NHL): *

NHL All-Star Game The National Hockey League All-Star Game (french: Match des Étoiles de la Ligue Nationale de Hockey, links=no) is an exhibition ice hockey game that is traditionally held during the regular season of the National Hockey League (NHL), with many o ...

(NHL):

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

(NHL): , , , *

Jack Adams Award The Jack Adams Award is awarded annually to the National Hockey League (NHL) coach "adjudged to have contributed the most to his team's success." The league's Coach of the Year award has been presented 47 times to 39 coaches. The winner is selecte ...

''finalist'' (NHL): , *

( AHL): 2011–12 * Pieri Memorial Award (AHL): 2011–12 * USHL Coach of the Year: 2009-10 *

(USHL): 2009–10 * Robertson Cup (NAHL): 2006–07, 2007–08 * NAHL coach of the year: 2007-08, 2004-05

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cooper, Jon 1967 births Living people Athol Murray College of Notre Dame alumni Canada men's national ice hockey team coaches Canadian expatriate ice hockey people Hofstra Pride men's lacrosse players Hofstra University alumni Ice hockey people from British Columbia Norfolk Admirals Public defenders Sportspeople from Prince George, British Columbia Stanley Cup champions Stanley Cup championship-winning head coaches Syracuse Crunch Tampa Bay Lightning coaches Western Michigan University Cooley Law School alumni