Head Coach Jon Cooper Details Tampa Bay Lightning's Journey From 1-5-1 Start to Top of Eastern Conference

Two-time Stanley Cup Champions, the Tampa Bay Lightning opened the season with a 1-5-1 record that had many questioning whether their championship window had finally closed. Jon Cooper admits he was wondering the same thing.

The head coach was hard on his team during the preseason, maybe too hard by his own admission. When the results did not come early in the regular season, doubts crept in around the organization. Cooper said the bells were going off after that disastrous start but he also knew they could turn it around.

Jon Cooper credits the rest over summer for turning Tampa Bay’s season back on track

The three-time Stanley Cup finalist knew something had to change, but the answer was not what most expected. Cooper spent last summer reflecting on three straight first-round playoff exits, even if two of them came against the eventual champion Florida Panthers.

The team that won 88 playoff games over the past decade needed to figure out why their last series victory came in 2022. "We were looking here, saying, our window is still open, but not the same as it was in 2015-16," Cooper told The Athletic.

"So here are some ways to a solution. The solution is going to be tough." The answer was not revamping systems or making massive roster changes. Cooper wanted to get back to the identity that carried Tampa Bay to Stanley Cup championships in 2020 and 2021.

"We defended our way to championships," veteran defenseman Ryan McDonagh said. The reset worked better than anyone could have imagined. The Lightning went on a 19-1-1 tear following that brutal start, climbing to the top of the Eastern Conference standings with a 37-14-4 record and 78 points heading into the Olympic break.

Tampa Bay capped the run with a 6-1 demolition of the Panthers on Thursday night in the latest installment of the Battle of Florida rivalry. Nikita Kucherov is playing at Hart Trophy level, while Andrei Vasilevskiy has emerged as a Vezina Trophy contender.

The Lightning accomplished all of this despite lengthy absences from McDonagh, Victor Hedman and Brayden Point, who will miss the Olympics with a knee injury. Depth signings like Dominic James and Charle-Edouard D'Astous have stepped up when needed.

Cooper believes his team can still compete for championships because the foundation remains intact. "The core of the engine is still really good," Cooper said. "It's some of the side parts that needed to be fixed and lubricated and a couple new wires here and there.”

However, while the new guys might be impressive, Cooper gave credit to his core group, with whom he led the Lightning to back-to-back championship glory in 2020 and 2021. The head coach believes that while the Lightning might not have won in four seasons, they are still good.

He even compared his boys to the New England Patriots and called Tampa Bay a “semi-dynasty,” which seems right considering just how dominant they were. This season, we have already seen hints of that dominance.

But with the league going on a break for the Milan Winter Olympics, Cooper and the Lightning will have to wait till Feb. 25 to get back on their winning spree.


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