"I can only speak for myself, what I went through, it was extremely frustrating to have to sit on the sidelines here for the past eight or nine days or whatever it was because what I felt during this time I've felt many times worse at many different times of my life," Cooper said. "I think if you ask most of the players if not all of them, they will probably tell you the same thing. Hopefully science wins out here and common sense really starts to win out and we kind of can plow through this. For me, it was a frustrating time but understandable I suppose for the climate we're in."
Cooper added that, to his knowledge, all of the Lightning players and coaches who have been placed on the COVID list are asymptomatic, which hopefully means they'll be able to return sooner rather than later, especially with the NHL and NHLPA agreeing to reduce the isolation period for a positive test from 10 days to five for fully vaccinated individuals who meet the required conditions.
Cooper said the silver lining from his COVID diagnosis was being able to take a step back and watch his team from more of a broader perspective on television rather than being in the thick of the action behind the bench. Before the game and during intermissions, he phoned his staff to give them his thoughts on the game and what he was able to see.
"It is completely different to watch a game on TV as it's going on as opposed to being there," Cooper said. "I found myself being quite the Monday morning quarterback as the game was going on. And it gives me a new appreciation. If there's anything you learn from this, it's much easier to watch the game on TV than it is to be right in the trenches with the guys because it happens so fast down there. But it gave me a different perspective."
Cooper also got to watch a game with his family, something he's never been able to do as the Lightning head coach. That's a moment he'll never forget.
"My son's 11 now," Cooper said. "When I took over the Lightning he was, gosh, three maybe. And so, this was the first time I ever got watch a game with the family and him and see what goes on in the family, what they do if we're up, behind, the game's close. So it was pretty cool to have that experience. I don't want to continue to have that experience, but I'm glad I got it. It was a pretty cool family dynamic, especially the way we pulled the game out. There was a lot of excitement in the house."
Bellemare said he didn't know he had COVID until he received his positive test result.
"(Felt) like nothing was wrong to be honest," he said. "I've played with worse, but that's the nature of the time right now with COVID."
Bellemare had to quarantine in a room in his house, isolated from his family over Christmas.
"My son is 4 years old," Bellemare explained. "He (understood) at times, but at times he was like, 'When is he coming to eat dinner with us?' My daughter was a little bit more difficult because she's a hugger. So when you're in your room, coming out of your room, mask on, gloves on and she's asking for hugs and you're like, 'No, I can't. I'm sick.' Her head goes down and she walks away like she did something wrong. Felt a little bit tough I've got to be honest, but I felt like at the end towards the last days, it was more like, 'Alright, papa, go back to your room. You're sick.' So they kind of turn it into some jokes. Fortunately, they are so young they will never remember it."
