The NHL’s longest-tenured head coach, Jon Cooper, has finally won his first Jack Adams Award as NHL Coach of the Year.
Cooper, who has manned the Tampa Bay Lightning since March 25, 2013, took home the trophy, which is voted on by the National Broadcasters’ Association, after being a second-place finisher for the 2013-14 and 2018-19 campaigns. He joins John Tortorella (2003-04), currently playing for the Stanley Cup with the Vegas Golden Knights, as the lone two head coaches in Lightning history to win the honor.
Lindy Ruff of the Buffalo Sabres and Dan Muse of the Pittsburgh Penguins finished second and third, respectively. Cooper netted 36 of the 99 first-place votes en route to his victory.
2026 Jack Adams Award voting
Cooper, a two-time Stanley Cup champion with the Lightning, led Tampa Bay to a 50-26-6 record and their ninth consecutive playoff berth, which is tied for the longest current run in the NHL. The Lightning recorded their fifth 50-win campaign under Cooper’s guidance and their seventh 100-point season.
With a January 12 win against the Philadelphia Flyers, Cooper also became the second-fastest head coach in league history to reach 600 career wins, doing so in 1,005 games. The only coach to do faster was Scotty Bowman, who did so in 1,002 games.
After finishing second in the Atlantic Division, the Lightning were upset in the first round of the playoffs by the Montreal Canadiens.
Cooper was surprised with the award as he prepared to cut the ribbon for the Coop’s Catch for Kids Family Lounge at Muma Children’s Hospital on Wednesday.
“Okay, you got me,” Cooper said. “I never thought this day would come.”
Cooper’s winning margin (three voting points) is the second-narrowest overall, behind the one-point win by Ruff over Peter Laviolette in 2005-06. Last year’s winner of the award, Spencer Carbery, received no votes after his Washington Capitals failed to qualify for the postseason.
