The future of the Tampa Bay Lightning organization is in question after yet another disappointing playoff showing following their round 1 elimination at the hands of the Montreal Canadiens.
It will be interesting to see what happens with this core that has been assembled by general manager Julian BriseBois. Does management attempt to reload and get this team back into Cup contention? Or is four straight years without a playoff series win enough and does that lead to a rebuilding phase?
Also what happens with Lightning head coach Jon Cooper? Cooper is the longest tenured coach in the NHL, having manned the Tampa bench since 2013. He would be the most sought after coach on the market if he became available from teams looking to break into contention. Will Cooper stick around or will the front office seek to go in a different direction after another early playoff exit?
Jon Cooper Likely to Remain with Tampa
It sounds probable that Cooper will be staying with Tampa for the foreseeable future. Via insider David Pagnotta on Morning Cuppa Hockey “[Jon Cooper’s] gonna be there as long as he wants to be.”
This is not a surprise considering Cooper’s track record with the franchise. In his 13 full seasons with the club he has never had a losing season. The only year his team went below .500 was his first season when he took over midway through the campaign. He has won two Stanley Cups in 2020 and 2021. And he has made four finals all together with appearances in 2015 and 2022 as well.
While the recent postseason struggles are disappointing, Cooper has the resume to back the long leash. As long as the Lightning are in the mix and winning games, he is not going anywhere.
With that said, perhaps no playoff run in the Cooper era was more frustrating this one. Tampa was pegged to go far in this postseason by many with how much depth and experience the team has in a wide open eastern conference. While Montreal is a talented group, they don’t have the playoff pedigree of this Lightning team.
Nevertheless, the Lightning remarkably lost Game 7 to the Canadiens despite limiting them to only nine shots on goal. Cooper in his postgame interview stated that despite the series loss good fortune has been on his side throughout his career: “The Hockey Gods have been in my corner many, many times. Tonight they were in the other corner.”
Tampa Needs to Turn Around Playoff Struggles
If Tampa is to milk whatever remaining life is left from this core, they need to get past this first round hurdle that has been the downfall of this team the past four years.
The Lightning are too skilled to be playing golf this early every year. They need more from their top players come playoff team, starting with Nikita Kucherov up front.
In the meantime, GM BriseBois has an offseason ahead of him to retool this group in the hopes of getting another Stanley Cup out of this Cooper-led team.
Lightning Receive Positive Update on Jon Cooper’s Future with Team