Tampa Bay Lightning head coach Jon Cooper has 11 years under his belt as the head man behind the Lightning bench. He took over the team from former Lightning coach Guy Boucher who had the team on the brink of the NHL basement toward the end of the 2013 season.
The hire that took the Bolts away from Boucher was an “internal” one within the organization. Cooper had won a title in the AHL with the Norfolk Admirals during the 2011-12 season. He also had a successful, winning season with the Syracuse Crunch the year after right before he got promoted.