Tampa Bay Lightning Having Extension Talks With Head Coach

According to Pierre LeBrun, the Tampa Bay Lightning are beginning extension talks with head coach Jon Cooper. Cooper is in the final year of his current contract and when given the amount of success he's had since joining them, it makes sense that Tampa Bay wants to keep him around.

Is Jon Cooper going to get paid top tier? Why is Dave Tippett content to wait? Are the Wild going to wait on Dean Evason? A look at NHL head coaches entering the final year of their contracts and where things are at with each situation:https://t.co/7RYVfLCyCu
— Pierre LeBrun (@PierreVLeBrun) October 3, 2021

Over the last two seasons, Cooper of course has led the Lightning to back-to-back Stanley Cups. This alone makes it a no-brainer that they should extend him. Even though the Lightning have had very deep teams over these last few years, his leadership behind the bench was still needed for their Stanley Cup wins.

Cooper has been head coach of the Lightning since the 2012-13 season after the team fired Guy Boucher near the end of the year. Since then, he has led the Lightning to a 384-197-53 record. Thus, the Lightning have had a ton of success with him as their coach. Keep in mind, this is even more impressive given the fact that this is his first tenure as an NHL head coach.

It will be intriguing to see how Cooper does with his new roster this season. The Lightning have lost a number of key players over the summer, so they will more working against them this go-around. However, with Cooper still behind the bench, they are still in very good hands.