Lightning head coach Jon Cooper signed through at least 2026-27

Eduardo A. Encina, Tampa Bay Times on Oct 3, 2025

Published in Hockey

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BRANDON, Fla. — The length of Jon Cooper’s contract with the Lightning has been a mystery in recent years, as the team has chosen not to disclose the terms of their head coach’s deal.

At the end of last season, general manager Julien BriseBois would only say that Cooper’s contract term included the upcoming 2025-26 season. But Cooper was quietly extended through at least 2026-27, as first reported Friday by TSN’s Pierre LeBrun.

Cooper is the NHL’s longest-tenured coach, hired during the 2012-13 season. The Lightning have won back-to-back Stanley Cups, gone to four Cup finals, advanced to the Eastern Conference final six times and made the postseason in 11 of 12 seasons under Cooper. Cooper’s 572 wins are fifth most among active coaches but his .638 points percentage is higher than all four above him.

Cooper, 58, will coach Team Canada in February’s Winter Olympics in Italy after guiding Canada to a win in last season’s 4 Nations Faceoff.

Cooper has said several times that he’s committed to remaining with the Lightning as long as Jeff Vinik is owner and BriseBois the GM. (Vinik is in control of the team through 2027, then becomes a minority owner and remains on the board.) But after the Lightning suffered their third straight first-round playoff loss, rumors of Cooper’s departure started swirling, including one report that claimed he was heading to Utah, where he’s good friends with Mammoth owner Ryan Smith.

Vasilevskiy to make preseason debut Saturday

Goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy will see his first game action in the Lightning’s final preseason tilt Saturday against the Panthers in Sunrise.

Vasilevskiy, who missed most of training camp with what Cooper called a “player management” issue, might not go the entire game, but Cooper said he would start and play a “significant portion.”

The lineup the Lightning will send to South Florida is uncertain after tempers flared in Thursday’s game against the Panthers to the tune of 49 penalties.

Friday’s practice included several noticeable absences, including Brandon Hagel, who was knocked out of Thursday’s game after he was sucker punched by A.J. Greer, Victor Hedman, Erik Cernak and Darren Raddysh.