Jon Cooper Wins 2026 Jack Adams Award After 50-Win Season
Jon Cooper won the jack adams award on Wednesday after steering Tampa Bay to a 50-26-6 season and a ninth consecutive playoff berth. It was the second time in franchise history that a Lightning coach took the NHL’s coach of the year honor.
Cooper and the Lightning
The award goes to the NHL coach judged to have contributed the most to his team’s success, with members of the NHL Broadcasters’ Association casting the votes. Cooper was in his third time as a finalist and joined John Tortorella as the only Lightning coaches to win it, with Tortorella taking the prize in 2004.
Tampa Bay finished with 106 standings points, tied for fifth in the NHL. The club also logged its first 50-win season since 2021-22, and the numbers across the roster backed up the recognition.
Milestones for Jon Cooper
Cooper reached his 1,000th career game on Dec. 31, then became the second-fastest coach in league history to reach 600 wins on Jan. 12 with a 5-1 victory against the Philadelphia Flyers. Those milestones landed in the middle of an injury-filled campaign, yet Tampa Bay still finished among the NHL’s best for wins, goals, goals against, goal differential, road wins, regulation wins, comeback wins and penalty kill percentage.
Dan Muse of the Pittsburgh Penguins and Lindy Ruff of the Buffalo Sabres were the other finalists. For the Lightning, the award tracks directly with a season that produced 106 points and another postseason berth, and Cooper now stands alone in franchise history behind only Tortorella’s 2004 win.
