The Tampa Bay Lightning could once again mine the American Hockey League to find their new head coach.
Jon Cooper, the current head coach of the AHL’s Syracuse Crunch, could reportedly be named the new head coach of the Lightning as early as Monday, according to a tweet by Long Island-based NHL writer Chris Botta, a scribe for the SportsBusiness Journal and Daily.
“I think Cooper gets the job,” Hockey Central insider Doug MacLean agreed Monday. “I suspect he’s the guy.”
Tampa Bay’s general manager, Steve Yzerman, fired coach Guy Boucher Sunday in the wake of the struggling team’s 13-17-1 record. Under the shared guidance of assistant coaches Martin Raymond and Dan Lacroix, the team lost 3-2 later that day to the Winnipeg Jets.
The hiring of Boucher from the AHL’s Hamilton Bulldogs was Yzerman’s first major move as GM of the franchise.
If Yzerman does go with Cooper over veteran candidates such as Lindy Ruff, Jacques Martin and Mike Sullivan, it will mark the second time he has dipped into the AHL for a bench boss with no prior NHL coaching experience.
The 45-year-old Cooper, a native of Prince George, B.C., is a proven winner.
In 2009-10, he led the Green Bay Gamblers to a USHL championship and earned himself a promotion to the AHL. In 2011-12, just his second AHL season, he guided the Norfolk Admirals (55-18-3) to a Calder Cup and captured the Louis A.R. Pieri Memorial Award as the AHL’s most outstanding coach in the process.
This season Cooper has led the Tampa-affiliated Crunch to a 37-29-5-5 record and a playoff berth.
Cooper did run the Syracuse practice Monday morning.
