NEW YORK – Jon Cooper of the Tampa Bay Lightning is the 2025-26 recipient of the Jack Adams Award as “the NHL coach adjudged to have contributed the most to his team’s success,” as selected by the NHL Broadcasters’ Association.
Cooper was surprised with the trophy while at Tampa General Hospital for a ribbon-cutting ceremony on the Coop’s Catch for Kids Family Lounge, funded with proceeds from his annual charity fishing tournament.
A three-time Jack Adams finalist after finishing second in voting in 2018-19 and third in 2013-14, Cooper joins John Tortorella (2003-04) as the second head coach in Lightning history to capture the trophy.
Cooper received 36 first-place votes and was a top-three selection on 58 of 99 ballots for 226 voting points, prevailing over Lindy Ruff of the Buffalo Sabres (223 points) and Dan Muse of the Pittsburgh Penguins (199 points) in the closest three-way Jack Adams race since balloting results for this award were first published in 1983-84. Cooper’s winning margin (three voting points) is the second-narrowest overall, behind the one-point win by Ruff over Peter Laviolette, 155-154, in 2005-06. Points are allocated on a 5-3-1 basis for first through third place.
The longest-tenured active head coach in the NHL, Cooper led Tampa Bay (50-26-6, 106 points) to its ninth consecutive playoff berth (tied for the longest current run in the League) and 12th in his 13 full seasons at the helm of the franchise. The Lightning recorded their fifth 50-win campaign under Cooper’s guidance (and first since 2021-22) as well as their seventh 100-point season. They placed among the 2025-26 leaders (including shootout-deciding goals) in goal differential (2nd; +59), goals against (3rd; 231) and goals for (4th; 290). Tampa Bay also ranked among the NHL’s best in 5-on-5 goals for/against ratio (2nd; 1.29), road wins (t-2nd; 24), regulation wins (3rd; 40), comeback wins (3rd; 24), third-period goal differential (3rd; +21), penalty kill efficiency (3rd; 82.6%), home wins (t-3rd; 26) and points by defensemen (5th; 204) as Cooper – on Jan. 12 at PHI – became the second-fastest head coach in League history to reach 600 career wins (1,005 GC), behind only Scotty Bowman (1,002 GC).
