Lightning head coach Jon Cooper receives Jack Adams Award
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Lightning head coach Jon Cooper wins Jack Adams Award
Cooperâs Achievement with the Lightning
Jon Cooper, head coach of the Tampa Bay Lightning, has been awarded the Jack Adams Award, recognizing him as the coach who contributed the most to his teamâs success during the season. This marks his first time receiving the honour, despite having been nominated three times previously. Cooper now joins John Tortorella (2004) as only the second coach in Lightning history to win this award.
Under Cooperâs leadership, the Lightning secured their ninth consecutive playoff appearance. The team finished the season with a 50-26-6 record, accumulating 106 points. This performance placed them second in the Atlantic Division and tied for fifth overall in the NHL. The 58-year-old coach, a native of Prince George, B.C., has been at the helm of the Lightning since being hired midway through the 2012-13 season, making him the longest-tenured coach in the NHL.
The Lightning demonstrated strong performance across various metrics, ranking among the top teams in the NHL for goals scored, goals against, goal differential, road wins, regulation wins, comeback wins, and penalty-kill percentage. Cooper was reportedly surprised with the award while attending a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the Coopâs Catch for Kids Family Lounge at Tampa General Hospital.
Other Nominees and Their Seasons
The other finalists for the Jack Adams Award included Dan Muse of the Pittsburgh Penguins and Lindy Ruff of the Buffalo Sabres. Ruffâs Sabres had a notable season, making the postseason for the first time in 15 years and winning the Atlantic Division by three points over both the Lightning and the Montreal Canadiens. Despite these achievements, Ruff did not secure the coach of the year award.
Muse also led the Penguins to a strong finish, helping them break a three-season playoff drought and finish second in the Metropolitan Division. Jared Bednar of the Colorado Avalanche finished fourth in the voting for the award, despite his teamâs historic season. The voting breakdown, released by the NHLPA, showed how the top 14 coaches received first-, second-, and third-place votes from members of the NHL Broadcastersâ Association.
First-place votes were valued at five points, second-place votes at three points, and third-place votes at one point. Bednar received four first-place votes, 13 second-place votes, and seven third-place votes, totaling 66 points. His last nomination for the award was during the 2017-18 season, when he guided the Avalanche to a 43-30-9 record and 95 points, securing a playoff berth after a season where they finished with 48 points.
Buffalo Sabresâ Draft Rights Update
In other news concerning the Buffalo Sabres, the team recently lost the rights to several late-round draft picks. These include 2022 sixth-rounder Gustav Karlsson, and seventh-rounders Joel Ratkovic-Berndtsson and Linus Sjodin, all of whom play at various levels in Sweden. They were not signed before the June 1 signing deadline.
Additionally, 2024 seventh-rounder Ryerson Leenders, a 20-year-old goalie who had a 2.69 GAA in 39 games for the OHLâs Brantford Bulldogs, was not signed or declared to an NCAA club prior to Mondayâs deadline. The Sabres did sign 2022 sixth-rounder Jake Richard to a two-year entry-level deal before he returned to the University of Connecticut for his senior season. The team has until August 15th before losing exclusive rights to 2021 third-rounder Stiven Sardarian, a 23-year-old Russian winger who completed his senior season at Michigan Tech.
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