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Pascal Vincent would be the Lightning’s #1 target if Jon Cooper were to leave
Félix Forget
Pascal Vincent would be the Lightning’s #1 target if Jon Cooper were to leave
Credit: Getty Images
Since the Lightning’s elimination in the first round of the current playoffs, Jon Cooper’s future has been one of the hot topics in the NHL. One wonders if the Lightning coach, who is a good friend of the owner of the Utah Mammoth, could take the head coaching job there.

Some would also see him in a leadership role (possibly on Long Island), but the buzz about him going to Utah is really strong (and, more importantly, incessant).

Cooper has said in recent days that he’ll be back behind the Lightning bench next year. That said, that’s the kind of thing that can always change (P.K. Subban wasn’t on the market in 2016, y’know)… and there’s also the fact that Cooper’s contract in Tampa Bay will expire at the end of next season.

So it’s safe to assume that within the next fifteen months or so, there could very well be a new coach at the helm of the Lightning… and according to what Marco Normandin (HabsolumentFan) hears, there’s a real chance that that coach could be Pascal Vincent.

Because, according to Normandin, Vincent would be the Lightning’s #1 candidate to replace Cooper if the latter were to leave.

Normandin, who seems to have very good reason to believe that Cooper will leave within the next 15 months or so to go to Utah (and take the job currently held by André Tourigny), tells us to keep an eye on the Lightning as a possible destination for the man currently in charge of the Laval Rocket.

He doesn’t know whether Cooper will leave this summer or next, that said… but he seems pretty convinced that by the start of the 2026-27 season, Cooper will be in Utah.

Obviously, for the Habs, losing Vincent wouldn’t necessarily be ideal. He’s doing a great job with the Rocket right now, and the Habs are very fortunate to have such a coach at the helm of their club-school… but that doesn’t mean it’s a bad thing (in the short term, at least).

If we take it for granted that Cooper will lead the Lightning in 2025-26 (which, at the moment, is still the official version), that would mean Vincent would have to wait another year to occupy that position. And if he’s been told he’s the Lightning’s #1 choice (which is a top team), maybe he won’t necessarily be interested in taking a job elsewhere in the NHL for 2025-26.

Why go manage the Blackhawks if you know the Lightning will want to hire you a year later?

So, if all this proves true, there’s a real possibility that Vincent will stay in Laval next year. And if the Habs can keep Vincent for another year, they certainly won’t spit on the possibility.

But that’s in the event that Cooper stays in Tampa for 2025-26… and no one seems to know for sure.

I’ll repost Normandin’s text HERE if you’d like more details. This is big news.


Overtime

– Michael Hage’s teammate is expected to be drafted in the middle of the first round of the upcoming draft. And the Habs have two picks in that corner…

– That’s right.

– Worlds: here’s tomorrow’s schedule.

– Read.

– Frederik Andersen is having a great series.

– A reminder of the end of Shea Weber’s career.

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