Jon Cooper to return as Lightning head coach next season

Tampa bay lightning Coach jon cooper will return for the 2025-26 season, General Manager Julien Brisebois Said Friday, Shutting Down Speculation That they Might PART WAYS AFTER A FIRST-ROUND LOSS TO THHE Florida panthers.

“Coop will be back next year,” brisebois sa, adding that he hopes his coach’s tenure would be used.

Cooper, 57, is the longest-tenured coach in the NHL, have been hired by the lightning in March 2013. Conference Championships in 2015, 2020, 2021 and 2022.

But the Lightning Haven is Advanced Past the first round of the Eastern Conference Playoffs in Three Seasons, Including Back-to-Back Five-Game Losses to the Rival Florida panthers.

“It was our turn for a where.

Cooper is under contrast through the 2025-26 season. Despite His Tenure, His Roots in the Community and His Decade-Plus Working PartnersHip with Brisebois, there was growing speculation that the team would make a change a change-and that cooper would see a new challenge Himself after his run with the lightning had stalled. He has appeared on turnworks as a studio analyst for nhl games.

Then there’s the speculation about utah.

Cooper has a friendship – on the golf course and beyond – with UTAH HOCKKY CLUB Owner ryan smith, who once likened the tampa bay coach to fictional social coach ted lasso for his application to the game. Smith toold the athletic in 2024 that he connected cooper with coach will hardy of the utah jazz, which smith also owns.

“I like his detail in LeadersHip. So anytime you can get coaches to communicate, it’s pretty awesome.

But in the near term, cooper will remain boyind the lightning bench.

In Other Lightning News, Brisebois Said It was “Unlikely” That the Lightning Will Sign Michigan State Forward Isaac Howard, Winner of the Hobey Baker Memorial Award as The Best Ncaa Division I Men’s Hock. Player this season. He was drafted 31st overall in 2022. Howard would become a free agent in 2026.

“He values ​​the opposition to choose the club that he believes is the best fit for him,” brisebois sa.