The rise of the Tampa Bay Lightning back to NHL contender status can be traced to March 26, 2013.
Heading for their second straight non-playoff season, the Lightning fired Guy Boucher as head coach and put their faith in Prince George-born-and-raised Jon Cooper, who took over a team that ended up 28th in a 30-team league.
What a difference a year makes.
Sunday afternoon in Washington, the Lightning beat the Washington Capitals 1-0 in a shootout to clinch second place in the Atlantic Division title and finish third in the Eastern Conference, eighth overall in the NHL.
Much of the credit for the abrupt turnaround has to go to Cooper, who lost his top scorer for 45 games when Steven Stamkos broke his leg, then had to deal with life without captain Marty St. Louis when he requested a trade to New York. Then in the final week of the season, Cooper was forced to lean on his backup goalies to bail out the Bolts when Ben Bishop got hurt. On top of that, Cooper has had to depend on a young lineup that includes six rookies.
"There have been so many adverse moments this year that he has really had to keep this group together, especially with how young we've been, too," Stamkos told the Tampa Bay Times.
"This is the best relationship I've had personally with a coach. You see how calm and composed he is on the bench. That rubs off on guys during games, especially when you're in tight situations. You stay calm and realize the preparation we have done is eventually going to take over."
Now as the Lightning prepare to host the Montreal Canadiens in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs, starting on Wednesday, Cooper is being touted as an NHL coach-of-the-year candidate. Using a style that's delivered success throughout his 14-year career as a head coach, Cooper has won over the Lightning players while preaching a defence-first philosophy that has obviously worked well for him in his first full season in the NHL.
"We were well-known as a team that could score and we had a lot of flash but we told the guys in training camp it's not how many you put in the net that matters, it's how many you keep out," said the 46-year-old Cooper. "We went from 30th in the league last year in giving up goals to [11th-best] this season and that's how you make the playoffs."
The team leadership group includes captain Stamkos and assistant captain Eric Brewer. Brewer, a 34-year-old former Prince George Cougar and 2002 Olympic team member, has worn the 'A' ever since St. Louis was traded.
"He's our veteran rock on the back end and he's a true professional," said Cooper. "We have so many young guys and everyone looks up to Brew. He has been a presence back there who has really helped them develop."
Seven players on this year's Lightning team were with Cooper in the AHL with Norfolk when they won the Calder Cup championship in 2012. The emergence of rookie forwards Ondrej Palat, picked by the Lightning 208th overall in the 2011 draft, and Tyler Johnson, an undrafted free agent signing who played junior for the Spokane Chiefs, has taken everybody by surprise. Palat led the Lightning in scoring in 2013-14 with 59 points, while Johnson totaled 50 points and broke Stamkos's team record for goals by a rookie with 24.
Lightning members past and present, including Brett Connolly, Dana Tyrell, Ty Wishart and Vladimir Mihalik, are all former Cougars.
"I coached those guys in Norfolk and we actually had a pretty good chuckle, we all know the same streets and where everybody is and if you think about it, Prince George is a small town of thousands that hockey players come from, but we've all kind of migrated to Tampa," said Cooper. "The one constant is everybody is really proud of the fact they're either from Prince George or played in Prince George. It was a great place for me to grow up and I loved every second of it. It's a hockey-passionate town and hopefully we can bring the Stanley Cup there."
Brewer is about to become part-owner of the Cougars WHL franchise, along with Vancouver Canucks defenceman Dan Hamhuis. Cooper's father Bob was approached about investing in the team but turned the offer down. Cooper says he's confident having NHL connections working with the new ownership group will turn the struggling franchise around.
"With Brew and Hamhuis going in there, I think that will bind the local ties that will really help that franchise," said Cooper. "There's a passionate group of hockey people there that want that team to succeed. Having guys who have played in the league and have gone on to play in the NHL brings a bit of credibility and when they come back and give back something it goes miles in the community. The community in turn will come back and support the Cougars and it will be a winner."
