Jon Cooper Returns to Tampa Bay Lightning Following Personal Loss
TAMPA – Jon Cooper, head coach of the Tampa Bay Lightning, will return to the bench on Saturday when the team hosts the Buffalo Sabres. His absence stems from the recent passing of his father, Robert, earlier this week. Assistant coach Rob Zettler has been serving as acting head coach during Cooper’s time away, which included Wednesday’s game against the Toronto Maple Leafs and Thursday’s matchup with the Carolina Hurricanes.
“I think you know his dad passed away two nights ago,” Zettler shared after Wednesday’s morning skate. “I spoke to him at length last night about a lot of personal stuff. Thoughts and prayers, as always, to ‘Coop’ and his family. That was the No. 1 thing – that he takes care of business back home.” Cooper travelled to Vancouver following the news.
Olympic Performance and Team Canada
Prior to his personal leave, Cooper led Team Canada to a silver medal at the 2026 Olympic Winter Games in Milano Cortina. While the team ultimately fell to Team USA in a thrilling 2-1 overtime finish, Cooper’s leadership was instrumental in Canada’s strong showing. The gold medal win for Team USA was a significant moment in the games. You can read more about the Olympic hockey tournament here.
Lightning Lineup Updates
The Lightning will welcome back several key players for Saturday’s game. Forward Brayden Point, along with defensemen Charle-Edouard D’Astous and Emil Lilleberg, are expected to return to the lineup. Point was unfortunately sidelined for the Olympics due to injury. Center Anthony Cirelli (upper body), who also missed Olympic action, is anticipated to be back in the lineup Saturday as well. However, forward Nick Paul (lower body) has been placed on injured reserve.
Lightning’s Strong Position
The Tampa Bay Lightning (37-14-4) were on a remarkable 19-1-1 run before the Olympic break, currently leading the Atlantic Division with a six-point advantage over the Montreal Canadiens and Detroit Red Wings. Zettler expressed confidence in the team’s ability to maintain their success even in Cooper’s absence.
“What I am really confident in is our guys,” Zettler stated. “They’ve been excellent in so many ways this year, including times like this where Coop’s missing or something happens to one of the guys, and we’ve had guys step up all year. Whether it’s injuries or personal reasons, people have missed games and they’ve really done an excellent job of responding. I expect nothing less and they expect nothing less of themselves.”
Forward Jake Guentzel, who played for the victorious U.S. team, shared his support for Cooper: “I was texting with [Cooper] on Monday when we were flying back [from Milan]. Obviously a really sad day for him and his family. It’s going to be different [without him on the bench], but we’ve just got to step up and try to get the win for him.”
