The Most Interesting Man In Hockey: Jon Cooper
Jonathan Willis
June 11 2012 02:23PM
For what it’s worth, my belief is that the best candidate for the Edmonton Oilers’ head coaching position is Jon Cooper, currently the head coach of Tampa Bay’s AHL affiliate in Norfolk.
Jon Cooper has never served as an NHL coach – head, associate, or assistant. All of his experience has come in other leagues. But when I first profiled Cooper back in March, I was highly impressed by the experience he does have.
He left his previous career (Cooper was a lawyer) to take up coaching full time in 2003 in the North American Hockey League. In five seasons he won the league championship twice, coach of the year honours twice, and compiled a 223-93-17 record. For good measure, he also helped develop an NHL’er (Matt Taormina) in a league that rarely produces them.
In the summer of 2008, Cooper was named coach and general manager of the USHL’s Green Bay Gamblers. The year prior, the Gamblers went 13-41-6 with a minus-94 goal differential. In Cooper’s first year with the team they led the league in regular season points and managed a plus-72 goal differential (a shift of 166 goals in a 60-game season). The next year, the Gamblers again led the league in the regular season and won the championship as well. In two USHL seasons, Cooper was named G.M. of the year twice and coach of the year once (and was roped into performing in the videos sprinkled throughout this piece). That got him a head coaching job in the AHL with the Norfolk Admirals.
In Norfolk
Norfolk, under the guidance of a new coach (Cooper) and general manager (Julien BriseBois - recently passed over for the Montreal Canadiens' G.M. position), may have only managed a first round loss in 2010-11, but that represented the best season any affiliate team of the Tampa Bay Lightning had experienced in a decade and a half:
| Season | Team | W | L | OTL | T | PTS | GF | GA | GD | Playoffs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010-11 | Norfolk | 39 | 26 | 15 | --- | 93 | 265 | 230 | 35 | Rd. 1 loss |
| 1996-97 | Adirondack | 38 | 28 | 2 | 12 | 90 | 258 | 249 | 9 | Rd. 1 loss |
| 2009-10 | Norfolk | 39 | 35 | 6 | --- | 84 | 208 | 214 | -6 | N/A |
| 2003-04 | Hershey | 33 | 34 | 5 | 8 | 78 | 203 | 218 | -15 | N/A |
| 2001-02 | Springfield | 35 | 41 | 2 | 2 | 74 | 213 | 237 | -24 | N/A |
| 1997-98 | Adirondack | 31 | 37 | 3 | 9 | 74 | 245 | 275 | -30 | Rd. 1 loss |
| 2008-09 | Norfolk | 33 | 38 | 9 | --- | 75 | 236 | 269 | -33 | N/A |
| 2002-03 | Springfield | 34 | 38 | 1 | 7 | 76 | 202 | 243 | -41 | Rd. 1 loss |
| 2007-08 | Norfolk | 29 | 44 | 7 | --- | 65 | 213 | 267 | -54 | N/A |
| 1998-99 | Cleveland (IHL) | 28 | 47 | 7 | --- | 63 | 248 | 310 | -62 | N/A |
| 2006-07 | Springfield | 28 | 49 | 3 | --- | 59 | 181 | 268 | -87 | N/A |
| 2005-06 | Springfield | 28 | 43 | 9 | --- | 65 | 220 | 312 | -92 | N/A |
| 2004-05 | Springfield | 27 | 47 | 9 | --- | 57 | 161 | 255 | -94 | N/A |
| 1999-00 | Detroit (IHL) | 22 | 52 | 8 | --- | 52 | 163 | 277 | -114 | N/A |
| 2000-01 | Detroit (IHL) | 23 | 53 | 6 | --- | 52 | 184 | 311 | -127 | N/A |
Tampa Bay's farm teams have been miserable for years; the 2010-11 squad coached by Cooper (in bold) was easily the best of the bunch despite a middling record.
In 2011-12, BriseBois and Cooper took things further. Norfolk improved their goal differential to a whopping plus-93, won 55 games to put them first in the AHL during the regular season (10 more wins than second-place Oklahoma City) and then dominated the AHL playoffs, never allowing a series to go the distance and sweeping both the Eastern Conference and Calder Cup Finals. The club also set a record for the longest-ever winning streak in professional hockey, with 28 consecutive wins, 10 more than the previous pro hockey record and 11 more than the previous AHL record.
Experience matters, no question. But experience has never been as important as the combination of ability and success. Cooper has been a rock star at every level since going into coaching; he’s experienced nothing but success. While team success is an imperfect measure of coaching ability, the evidence strongly suggests that Cooper is highly capable. The facts that he is an educated man and a Western Canadian to boot (Cooper’s originally from Prince George) don’t hurt him either.
The Oilers have a chance to land a home run here. There are a variety of excellent candidates available, but none as compelling as Cooper. I don’t get a vote when the Oilers hire their next head coach, but if I did I’d be voting for Cooper.
This week by Jonathan Willis
- Craig MacTavish returns to the Edmonton Oilers
- Should the Oilers pursue Guillaume Latendresse?
- Should the Oilers consider trading for Tim Thomas?
- Blaming the professional scouts
- Is Steve Tambellini the right man to build Edmonton's next Stanley Cup Champion?
- Colin Fraser: A fourth-liner for all teams
- Fixing the NHL's wonky hit statistics
- What would it take for the Leafs to land Galchenyuk and Yakupov?
- The Edmonton Oilers' professional scouting staff
- Are the Coyotes a good trading partner for the Oilers?
- Dallas Eakins: Three (maybe) more years
- Can the Devils come back?
I was all in favor of hiring Krueger, but the more I thought about it and the recent hiring of Mac-T have changed my mind.
Tambellini will hire the most experienced coach, if nothing but to save his own arse.
Sutter’s résumé is the best of the three coaches’s talked about here, especially with youth.
After all, what’s the difference between Cooper and Nelson? I wiould consider hiring Cooper a slap in the face to Nelson.
Yes, but it is the norm to allow coaches to interview and sign with other teams provided they are willing to offer a significant upgrade (like an NHL head coaching job) and your own organization is not.
Not doing so would have reputation affects next time you go and try and hire someone.
@godot10
Actually, I believe Yzerman *cannot* ask for compensation. It's the same reason the Devils couldn't do a darn thing when Brent Sutter signed on in Calgary.
@DSF
Nah, we still write about the games between January to April, just not while sober.
@striatic
I completely get that, and I'm actually in agreement with you. The problem is that I'm not a big enough Norfolk Admirals fan to answer that question.
I think Brent Sutter had an out clause in his deal with New Jersey, that he leave for family reasons, without penalty or restrictions.
The NHL does not have formal rules like the NFL does. If Cooper is under contract, Yzerman must give permission for the Oilers to talk to Cooper, and he can demand compensation.
The problem with a resume like this, is that we'd expect the same, and if his consistent winning ways finally subside here in Edmonton then I can see things spiralling down. A lot of pressure for a guy with no NHL experience.
He's also lucky. See that OT goal against the Marlies? Off the stanchion and into the net with a guy offside. We need that kinda luck in E-town!
The terms contract will rule. Yzerman cannot simply demand compensation.
The Commissioner abolished the "compensation" rules after the whole Chiarelli debacle in Beantown & Ottawa.
The NHL HAS very specific rules as to this issue.
The Oilers would need to ask for permission to talk to Cooper since he is still under contract, but if he was given a promotion/employment, there is ZERO compensation given to the Club that the Coach was previously employed by.
x6
Damien Cox, on Rick Dudley's move from Toronto to Montreal: