TAMPA – Patience is a dying virtue, and it's as true in hockey as anywhere else.
The Lightning's Jon Cooper is now the longest-tenured coach in the NHL at five-plus years. He was granted that status when the Blackhawks fired Joel Quenneville on Tuesday after 10-plus years at the helm.
It wasn't long ago that 10-year tenures were common and five didn't seem that long, but it's all a cycle.
"It's kind of going back to the days when the NHL stood for 'Not Here Long,' " NBC analyst Pierre McGuire said. "Coaches were fired and hired really quickly back in those days.