Cooper ‘never thought’ he’d win Jack Adams Award as NHL’s top coach

TAMPA -- Jon Cooper talked about what his "Coop’s Catch for Kids" foundation has meant to him and the many relationships he's built with children and families, along with the money he’s helped raise for pediatric cancer research.

And as the Tampa Bay Lightning coach prepared to cut the ribbon for the Coop’s Catch for Kids Family Lounge at Muma Children's Hospital on Wednesday, he was surprised with the Jack Adams Award, given to the top coach in the NHL as voted on by the National Broadcasters' Association.

"OK, you got me," Cooper said. "I never thought this day would come."

Cooper, the League's longest-tenured coach, guided the Lightning to the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the ninth consecutive season with a 50-26-6 record, finishing second in the Atlantic Division. It was the fifth time Tampa Bay has won 50 games under Cooper, and the first since 2021-22.

"It was a magical group and to think that we had one win in our first seven games, but nobody questioned what was happening, nobody questioned our belief in what we were doing," Cooper said. "And then we slowly took off. There were times with doubt, especially when a lot of the players went down the way they did."

It was another season of personal highs and lows for Cooper; he got his 600th NHL win on Jan. 12, becoming the second-fastest coach in League history to accomplish the feat. The Lightning won 6-5 against the Boston Bruins in the Navy Federal Credit Union NHL Stadium Series game at Raymond James Stadium on Feb. 1, but lost 2-1 in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference First Round at home to the Montreal Canadiens on May 3.

In between, he coached Team Canada in the 2026 Winter Olympics, winning a silver medal, and also dealt with the death of his father, Robert.

"You look back and you would've loved to spread all that stuff out over years instead of what happened in the last eight months," Cooper said. "My mom and dad are no longer with us anymore, so they didn't get the opportunity to see this event, but they're definitely with me right now."

It was the third time Cooper was a finalist for the Jack Adams Award. He guided the Lightning to the Stanley Cup in back-to-back seasons (2020, 2021).

"There's no secret sauce," Cooper said. "We've got a group and we've got a plan and we ultimately believe in bringing in good people. Are we perfect, any of us? No, but we have a foundation, a belief and a standard in how things have to be run."

(5-3-1 points allocation)