Jon Cooper of the Tampa Bay Lightning has won the Jack Adams Award as the NHL’s coach of the year.
The Lightning announced the honour Wednesday. Cooper finished ahead of the Buffalo Sabres’ Lindy Ruff and Pittsburgh Penguins’ Dan Muse in voting by members of the NHL Broadcasters’ Association.
It is the first Jack Adams Award for Cooper, the longest-tenured coach in the league at 13 years. He is widely considered among the best at the profession and has two Stanley Cup rings to show for it.
Cooper led the Lightning into the playoffs despite missing several key players for long stretches because of injuries.
The coaching trio who taught Jon Cooper that fun is a hockey fundamental
