The Tampa Bay Lightning announced on Friday a contract extension for head coach Jon Cooper. Per the team's website, it is a "multi-year" extension for the coach who led the Lightning to the Stanley Cup last season. Cooper, 48, was in the final year of his deal. According to Joe Smith of the Tampa Bay Times, Cooper's representatives and the Lightning, led by GM Steve Yzerman, had been in talks since early this year.
Cooper was in final year of his current contract with #tblightning. An extension makes sense, had been talks since early in season
— Joe Smith (@TBTimes_JSmith) December 4, 2015
Since taking over the Lightning in March of 2013, Cooper, the lawyer-turned-bench boss, has helped turn the team into one of the most formidable offensive powerhouses in the league. They led the NHL in scoring last season en route to their first Stanley Cup Finals berth since 2003-04. Tampa Bay's scoring numbers have dipped this season as teams seem to have placed more of an emphasis on clogging up the neutral zone - though captain Steven Stamkos' contract issues may be playing a part in his mediocre offensive output and thus hampering the team's overall production - and spending more time backchecking than forechecking.
Still, there's no denying the success that Cooper has brought to Tampa Bay in two seasons and part of a third. Guided by his steady hand, the Lightning have amassed a 112-70-23 record in 205 games under Cooper. They reached the playoffs in 2013-14, losing in the first round to a tough Montreal Canadiens squad, and managed a deep run last year into the Cup Finals against the eventual champions, the Chicago Blackhawks.
He is the fifth-fastest coach in NHL history to reach 100 victories and finished 2014 as a finalist for the Jack Adams Award for the league's best coach. Cooper led the Lightning franchise to its very first 50-win season in 2014-15.
He's known for his player-friendly approach and often asking for input from his guys before requiring they do anything. 26 games into the 2015-16 season, Cooper currently has his group at 12-11-3 and on the outside looking in at the NHL playoffs. But with plenty of time left to go and coming off a sweep of the Anaheim Ducks, it wouldn't be surprising to see Cooper take Stamkos and Co. on another deep postseason run.
