Something about the way Jon Cooper answered this question strikes me as really cool.

He isn’t calling the line with Girgensons, Eyssimont and Glendening the ‘fourth line’ — he’s calling it one of the four lines that goes to work and gets the job done.

There is no sense of hierarchy.

Don’t want to get ahead of ourselves, but we may have something special brewing right under our noses.

Jon Cooper when asked about the 4th line: “Who’s the 4th line? […] That line? One of our four lines?”
byu/likeslululemon inTampaBayLightning

16 comments

  1. As a multiple cup winning coach – and the best coach in NHL – he can say just about anything and it to be accepted as word.

  2. This man has won the highest award in everything he has ever coached.  He knows what he is doing

  4. Coop has so much respect for all of the players and staff. No brainer why he’s the longest tenured coach in the league, same goes to being the best coach too.

  6. Just imagine how those players feel when Coop reacts like he did. No surprise players are willing to run through a brick wall for him.

  9. First year beat reporter lol. I’ve heard Coop say this about the “4th line” before. I guess you should call the line by name. Especially when the center gets a goal and the line gets put out for a defensive zone face off with the game on the line.

  10. I’m so glad we have a good coach and don’t have to worry about our coach getting fired every other year like the other 31 teams

  13. Getting fired as an NHL coach is so unbelievably common. To stick around at 1 team for over a decade is quite a feat. Hope he stays for many many more years.

  14. Mishkin said today on Power Lunch that Coop doesnt like when they refer to them as “the 4th line” – Mish calls them the Glendening Line

  15. How could any coach with two working eyes see what Mikey does every night and think anything other than what coop just said? Girgensons is a kid and Glendenning is doing what he needs to do. But Mikey is a certified problem for any team he’s against any time his blades are on the ice.

    It also lends to the fact that coop doesn’t and hasn’t ever been a coach who rigidly sticks to drawn up lines and keeps shit fluid so it doesn’t surprise me that he looks at lines like tools and not a ranked scoring system

  16. Love to see the respect for the players! Each line brings something different to the table. Our 4th line right now is physical and tenacious which we really need.

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