NHL Rumors: Is it time to talk about Jon Cooper's future with the Tampa Bay Lightning?

Could the Dallas Stars try to land a Tkachuk again?

NHL Rumour Report: Jeff Marek on with DMase, Vingan & Daunic on the Dallas Stars: “Dallas tried to get Matthew Tkachuk, they didn’t have the assets that Florida had, and I’m pretty sure that Jim Nill would move heaven and earth to try to bring in someone like Brady Tkachuk.”

We may not be there yet, but there’s going to be a point to have the conversation about Jon Cooper’s future with the Tampa Bay Lightning

Daily Faceoff: Jeff Marek, earlier this week on the future of Tampa Bay Lightning head coach Jon Cooper. Cooper has some term left on his deal and they’re still a competitive team, and he’s likely back, but at some point, there might be the conversation.

Tyler Yaremchuk: “Four straight first-round exits for Tampa Bay. Is that just wishful thinking from some Canadian fan bases?”

Marek: “I think Tyler is right here. Like at a certain point, like we all just assume that Jon Cooper’s always going to be the coach of the Tampa Bay Lightning.

And he may still very well be the head coach of the Tampa Bay Lightning, and they may just spin this thing back. And we don’t know what the future for Victor Hedman is. We don’t know whether Darren Raddysh is going to hit free agency.

But they’re still an elite team here. And maybe Julien BriseBois says we’re going to plug a couple of holes here and spin this thing back, and Jon Cooper’s our guy, and that’s the end of it. He still does have some term, not sure whether it’s one or two years remaining on his deal, but he does still have some term.

Or does Julien BriseBois say ‘Like, Okay, we need to make a decision here. Players aren’t going anywhere. We still have a competitive and elite team in the National Hockey League.’

We all assume that Jon Cooper is always going to be the coach, but there is going to be a day when Jon Cooper is not the coach of the Tampa Bay Lightning. Are we there yet, now? I don’t think so, but I don’t think that it’s something that we should just brush off and say it’s not even a conversation, because, as Tyler’s point, I think it is.”