Lightning Quietly Extend Head Coach

Cooper, has become one of the most respected coaches during his time with the Lightning, which started mid-way through the 2012-13 season, when he was hired by the team, after coaching the American Hockey League Syracuse Crunch, for the first half of the 2012-13 season, after spending two years with the Norfolk Admirals, the second of which he helped his squad to an AHL Championship.

Tampa, of course, had been the top dog in the league and didn't pay much attention to the Florida Panthers for a while, but the last few seasons have seen a shift. Florida, of course, has been the top dog, winning consecutive Stanley Cups, while Tampa has become the little brother.

"Two teams right in their prime, very competitive men,” Panthers coach Paul Maurice told NHL.com about the rivalry. “Tampa has had success, so it got nasty this year because of the playoffs last year and the fact that we're rivals, but we're also in the same place with our teams ... legitimate teams."

Certainly, losing out to Florida in back-to-back playoffs has only increased the hatred between the two clubs, but with Cooper sticking around, for what is presumably another couple of years, he could be in the mix to push Tampa back into contention.

With much of their core still around, including Victor Hedman and Nikita Kucherov at the top, Tampa still has an open window to contend, and it's unlikely that they will become complacent and roll over just because the Panthers have bounced them around.

With goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy working towards a return for opening night, his return to practice earlier this week after missing time since mid-September due to an undisclosed issue is exactly the kind of news that Cooper has to love to hear.