Subscribe
Follow Us
The Tampa Bay Lightning have failed in their quest to win a third straight Stanley Cup. And head coach Jon Cooper's message to Lightning fans was rather simple.
Cooper's coaching staff joined the 54-year-old coach at the post-game press conference following the loss. His coaching staff accompanied him when they won two consecutive Cups, as well.
“They bettered us,” Cooper said of the Avalanche. “We met our match.”
Cooper laid out a simple decree to Lightning fans and the rest of the NHL as well:
“We're not done.”
This is the first playoff series the Lightning have lost since the Columbus Blue Jackets infamously swept them in 2019. They matched the single-season regular-season wins record (62) that season.
Cooper has been head coach of the Lightning since 2013 when hired by now-departed general manager Steve Yzerman. Prior to that, he was the head coach of Tampa's AHL affiliate, the Syracuse Crunch. He was also the head coach of the Norfolk Admirals when the Lightning was affiliated with them.
It'll be an offseason of potential change for Cooper. There's speculation around the hockey world that Cooper will lose two of his top assistant coaches, Derek Lalonde and Jeff Halpern, to other teams. One of those teams may be the Detroit Red Wings, Yzerman's current team.
The 54-year-old congratulated the new champions on their hard-fought victory. He called the Avalanche a “first-class organization” during his press conference. He also said that this 2022 Lightning team is the team he believes he'll remember the most out of the teams he's coached.
