Report: Lightning ‘quietly’ extended coach Jon Cooper in offseason
The Tampa Bay Lightning signed head coach Jon Cooper to an extension sometime in the offseason, according to TSN hockey insider Pierre LeBrun.
With Kris Knoblauch and Ryan Huska having signed extensions, that leaves only Lindy Ruff among NHL head coaches entering the final year of their contract.
Jon Cooper, without team announcement, quietly extended at some point over the past several months, not sure for how many… https://t.co/yfmu3eSYbs
— Pierre LeBrun (@PierreVLeBrun) October 3, 2025
“Jon Cooper, without team announcement, quietly extended at some point over the past several months,” LeBrun posted on X Friday morning. “Not sure for how many years. But he’s signed past this season.”
LeBrun reported the news soon after his TSN colleague Darren Dreger reported that the Edmonton Oilers and head coach Kris Knoblauch agreed to a multi-year contract extension. The Oilers later confirmed it would be a three-year deal.
According to LeBrun, Buffalo Sabres’ head coach Lindy Ruff is the only bench boss in the NHL entering the final year of his contract without an extension.
Now entering his 14th season with the Lightning, Cooper has a 572-306-83 record in 961 career regular-season games coached. Since taking over during the 2012-13 season, the Lightning have made the playoffs 11 times, including six Conference Final appearances, four Stanley Cup Final appearances and two championships in 2020 and 2021.
Cooper, 58, has been a Jack Adams Award finalist twice (2013-14 and 2018-19). He led Tampa to a Presidents’ Trophy in 2018-19, going 62-16-4 with 128 points, tied for the second-most wins and the fifth-most points in a single season.
Internationally, Cooper was head coach for Team Canada at the 4 Nations Face-Off, winning the tournament. He will serve as bench boss for Canada at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan, Italy. He was named coach for the 2022 Winter Olympics, but the NHL did not participate due to the COVID-19 pandemic.