don’t know who he is or what he does.. but if it’s good for Utah, then sweet.
Why? Is there rumors he’s getting fired?
I wouldn’t trust Brooks with Rangers news, let alone Tampa news.
Considering we’re still under contract with “Bear,” I don’t know how much weight this holds… Weirder things have happened… I mean, the Yotes moved to Utah. I’m not sure.
i’d be shocked if they let cooper walk, but had no clue he was friends with ryan smith, so maybe theres some weight to it
Cooper and Smith do have a relationship and Cooper I think had some kind of mentorship/informal advising role with Smith entering the NHL. If UHC has a solid team this year and things don’t go well, I could see Cooper being the next coach given the relationship history. Would it be surprising? Yeah a little. Shocking? Not at all.
It’s Larry Brooks. Take what he says with a huge dose of skepticism. Also, if Jon Cooper hits the market, every team is going to have an opening for a coach.
This is a pipe dream. There’s other good coaches on the market though. Woodcroft and Sullivan come to mind.
Lightning fan here: As others have said, take this rumor with a massive grain of salt. The man is beloved in Tampa Bay (look at Game 4 and it’s easy to see why), he’s the longest tenured coach in the league, won back to back cups, made it to the finals as recently as 3 years ago, and the team is still consistently making the playoffs. In my opinion he’s not going anywhere. Not to mention Bear has been a really good coach in getting the most out of rebuilding teams and people mostly like him here as well. It’s also very convenient to drop this on the eve of an elimination game for Tampa to take advantage of the fear mongering.
But, to play devils advocate: Coop’s never coached at the NHL level anywhere else and he might want a new challenge. Tampa is also going through an ownership change and who knows how well the new owners will treat the team. But he clearly knows Smith and could get a lot of potential out of these young guys. But above all else as much as I hate to admit it, Tampa’s window is starting to close and Utah’s is just starting to open.
TLDR; As a fan of both teams I still find Coop being Utah’s head coach in 2026 slim. But, I wouldn’t find it too surprising if it happened either.
“don’t be surprised” is even softer than a rumor lol
As a life long Tampa fan this would crush me. I think Cooper truly is one of, if not the, best coach in the league right now.
15 comments
don’t know who he is or what he does.. but if it’s good for Utah, then sweet.
Why? Is there rumors he’s getting fired?
I wouldn’t trust Brooks with Rangers news, let alone Tampa news.
Considering we’re still under contract with “Bear,” I don’t know how much weight this holds… Weirder things have happened… I mean, the Yotes moved to Utah. I’m not sure.
i’d be shocked if they let cooper walk, but had no clue he was friends with ryan smith, so maybe theres some weight to it
original tweet that is referenced:
[https://x.com/NYP_Brooksie/status/1917610966604193968?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Etweet](https://x.com/NYP_Brooksie/status/1917610966604193968?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Etweet)
I really wanted him as the Leafs coach
Cooper and Smith do have a relationship and Cooper I think had some kind of mentorship/informal advising role with Smith entering the NHL. If UHC has a solid team this year and things don’t go well, I could see Cooper being the next coach given the relationship history. Would it be surprising? Yeah a little. Shocking? Not at all.
It’s Larry Brooks. Take what he says with a huge dose of skepticism. Also, if Jon Cooper hits the market, every team is going to have an opening for a coach.
This is a pipe dream. There’s other good coaches on the market though. Woodcroft and Sullivan come to mind.
Lightning fan here: As others have said, take this rumor with a massive grain of salt. The man is beloved in Tampa Bay (look at Game 4 and it’s easy to see why), he’s the longest tenured coach in the league, won back to back cups, made it to the finals as recently as 3 years ago, and the team is still consistently making the playoffs. In my opinion he’s not going anywhere. Not to mention Bear has been a really good coach in getting the most out of rebuilding teams and people mostly like him here as well. It’s also very convenient to drop this on the eve of an elimination game for Tampa to take advantage of the fear mongering.
But, to play devils advocate: Coop’s never coached at the NHL level anywhere else and he might want a new challenge. Tampa is also going through an ownership change and who knows how well the new owners will treat the team. But he clearly knows Smith and could get a lot of potential out of these young guys. But above all else as much as I hate to admit it, Tampa’s window is starting to close and Utah’s is just starting to open.
TLDR; As a fan of both teams I still find Coop being Utah’s head coach in 2026 slim. But, I wouldn’t find it too surprising if it happened either.
“don’t be surprised” is even softer than a rumor lol
As a life long Tampa fan this would crush me. I think Cooper truly is one of, if not the, best coach in the league right now.
What’s wrong with the guy we got?
End of an era
No they meant the lacrosse team in CO.