Jon Cooper has accomplished just about everything with the Tampa Bay Lightning.<\/p>\n
He's won two Stanley Cups\u2014in 2020 and 2021\u2014reached another final, won the Four Nations Tournament with Team Canada, and has long established himself as one of the most respected coaches in the NHL.<\/p>\n
But might he eventually be tempted by a completely different challenge?<\/p>\n
On the podcast \u201cThe Sheet,\u201d Jeff Marek and Greg Wyshynski discussed a particularly intriguing scenario: the possibility of Cooper one day coaching the Toronto Maple Leafs.<\/p>\n
\u201cI do think that Jon Cooper is of the mind that that's a real challenge that he would embrace.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jeff Marek and Greg Wyshynski discuss whether two-time Stanley Cup champion Jon Cooper would ever leave Tampa Bay for hockey's ultimate coaching test. @JeffMarek | @wyshynski pic.twitter.com\/zxuJpQxEBT<\/p>\n
\u2014 The Sheet with Jeff Marek (@thesheethockey) August 19, 2026<\/p>\n
Obviously, we're not talking about a short-term scenario here. The Leafs have just hired a new coach in Jim Hiller, and there's no indication that a change is being considered this season unless there's a disaster.<\/p>\n
And there's certainly no truth to the rumor that Cooper is packing his bags for Toronto. Marek simply believes that the Lightning coach has the kind of mindset that could allow him to take on such a challenge.<\/p>\n
Because coaching the Leafs is obviously not the same as coaching just any other team, given all the pressure surrounding the franchise.<\/p>\n
Mike Babcock, too, had given it a try. When he arrived in Toronto, he was considered one of the big names among NHL coaches. He had already won championships and arrived with the ambition of bringing the Leafs back to the top.<\/p>\n
That's precisely what makes the challenge so fascinating.<\/p>\n
Marek believes it takes a coach who has already won and who is extremely confident in his abilities to come to Toronto believing he can succeed where so many others have failed.<\/p>\n
Cooper fits that description pretty well.<\/p>\n
Let's just say that after everything he's accomplished in Tampa Bay\u2014and having just won the Jack Adams Award\u2014he doesn't have much left to prove.<\/p>\n