Introduction
Jon Cooper (born August 23, 1967) is a Canadian-American professional ice hockey head coach, currently of the Tampa Bay Lightning of the National Hockey League (NHL).
Coaching career
Metro Jets
During the 2001–02 Central States Hockey League (now North American 3 Hockey League) season, Cooper led the Metro Jets to the Silver Cup - the USA Hockey National Junior B Championship.
St. Louis Bandits
Cooper coached the St. Louis Bandits of the NAHL and won 2 national championships back-to-back before coaching the Green Bay Gamblers
Green Bay Gamblers
Cooper was the coach of the United States Hockey League (USHL)'s Green Bay Gamblers starting in 2008. He led the team in 2008–09 and 2009–10 to a record of 84–27–9. In 2010, the team won the Clark Cup for the League's championship.
Syracuse Crunch
In 2010, Cooper was hired by the Tampa Bay Lightning to coach the Syracuse Crunch, the team's American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate. During the 2011–12 season, the Crunch won the Calder Cup as the AHL's champions. Cooper won the 2012 Louis A. R. Pieri Memorial Award 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, the Tampa Bay Lightning announced that Cooper would become the eighth head coach in franchise history. After leading the Lightning to their best season in franchise history in points (108) and wins (50), Cooper coached the Tampa Bay Lightning to their second Prince of Wales Trophy as the Eastern Conference Champion. The Lightning lost to the Chicago Blackhawks in six games in the 2015 Stanley Cup Final.
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. Cooper served as an assistant coach with Peter DeBoer, Dave Tippett and Jay Woodcroft under Team North America head coach Todd McLellan.
Personal
Cooper was born in Prince George, British Columbia. He played high school hockey at Notre Dame in Wilcox, Saskatchewan. He graduated with a Bachelor of Business Administration from Hofstra University in 1989. Despite his prior lacrosse experience being that of the box variety, he was a letterman in each of the first four years of John Danowski'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 championship teams as a junior and senior. He also played one year of club hockey during his time at Hofstra.
He earned a law degree from Thomas M. Cooley Law School in Lansing, Michigan. Prior to his career as a hockey coach, Cooper served as a public defender. Cooper started playing hockey again while attending law school, ultimately leading to Cooper's first experience coaching hockey at Lansing Catholic Central High School. Cooper would eventually land a job with the St. Louis Bandits of the North American Hockey League (NAHL), which would in turn lead to other coaching positions.
Cooper is a dual citizen of the United States and Canada. Cooper's mother was American, while his father was Canadian. Cooper and his wife Jessie have twin daughters, Julia and Josephine, and a son, Jonathan.
On September 16, 2016, the creation of the annual Coop's Catch for Kids charity fishing tournament was announced. The event is being done in partnership with the V Foundation. The tournament's purpose is for benefiting pediatric cancer research at Moffitt Cancer Center and All Children's Hospital. The event will launch from the Tampa Convention Center docks and will consist of a catch and release inshore grand slam tournament. Anglers will be fishing for snook, redfish, and trout. Each boat will feature a Lightning player or celebrity. The inaugural event will be on Tuesday, October 11 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
NHL coaching record
| Team | Year | Regular Season | Post Season | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Games | Won | Lost | OTL | Points | Finish | Won | Lost | Win % | Result | ||
| TB | 2012–13 | 16 | 5 | 8 | 3 | 13 | 4th in Southeast | — | — | — | Did not qualify |
| TB | 2013–14 | 82 | 46 | 27 | 9 | 101 | 2nd in Atlantic | 0 | 4 | .000 | Lost in First Round |
| TB | 2014–15 | 82 | 50 | 24 | 8 | 108 | 2nd in Atlantic | 14 | 12 | .538 | Lost in Stanley Cup Finals |
| TB | 2015–16 | 82 | 46 | 31 | 5 | 97 | 2nd in Atlantic | 11 | 6 | .647 | Lost in Conference Finals |
| Total | 262 | 147 | 90 | 25 | 319 | 0 Division Championships | 25 | 22 | .543 | ||
Coaching honors
- Prince of Wales Trophy (NHL): 2014-15
- Jack Adams Award finalist (NHL): 2013–14
- Calder Cup (AHL): 2011–12
- Pieri Memorial Award (AHL): 2011–12
- Clark Cup (USHL): 2009–10
- Robertson Cup (NAHL): 2007–08
- Robertson Cup (NAHL): 2006–07
- "Prince of Wales Trophy". NHL. The National Hockey League. Retrieved 2015-06-18.
- "Babcock, Cooper, Roy voted Adams Award finalists". National Hockey League. May 6, 2014. Retrieved May 7, 2015.