BriseBois on Cooper Future: ‘He’s Here for a While’

The Lightning aren’t moving on from Jon Cooper.

GM Julien BriseBois put any speculation about his head coach’s future to bed Tuesday at his end-of-season press conference. Asked directly about Cooper’s job after Tampa’s fourth straight first-round exit, BriseBois didn’t leave room for interpretation.

“He’s going to be here for a while,” BriseBois said.

Cooper is already the longest-tenured head coach in the NHL, hired by the Lightning back on March 25, 2013. BriseBois made it clear he wants that relationship to keep going past Cooper’s current deal too.

“He will be back because, A, he’s an outstanding coach. Two, more importantly, he’s the best coach for this job. Three, I really enjoy working with him,” BriseBois said. “When this contract ends, my expectation is he’s gonna sign another one and he’s going to be here for a while.”

BriseBois went into more detail on the partnership in his full exit interview:

Speculation around Cooper had picked up after Tampa dropped its first-round series to Montreal in seven games, with the Oilers floated as a possible landing spot if the Lightning ever made a change. BriseBois shut all of that down.

Tampa Bay still finished second in the Atlantic Division at 50 wins and 106 points, both their highest totals since 2021-22.

The roster has changed plenty since the back-to-back Cup runs in 2020 and 2021. Steven Stamkos left two summers ago, and Victor Hedman recently stepped away to focus on his mental health.

But BriseBois sees Cooper as one of the constants worth protecting.

“I am appreciative and grateful for our partnership, and I expect it to go on for many years to come, regardless of how many years he’s got left on his contract,” BriseBois said.

For Edmonton or anyone else hoping to grab Cooper out of Tampa, that door is shut.