List of Tampa Bay Lightning head coaches

The Lightning have played their home games at Amalie Arena since 1996.

The Tampa Bay Lightning are an American professional ice hockey team based in Tampa, Florida. They play in the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Hockey League (NHL). Often referred to as the Bolts,[1] the team joined the NHL in 1992 as an expansion team, and have won the Stanley Cup championship in 2004, 2020 and 2021.[2] Having first played in the Expo Hall,[3] and later in the ThunderDome (now known as Tropicana Field),[4] the Lightning have played their home games at the Ice Palace, currently titled Amalie Arena, since 1996. The Lightning are owned by Jeffrey Vinik, Julien BriseBois is their general manager, and Steven Stamkos is the team captain.

There have been nine head coaches for the Lightning franchise. The team's first head coach was Terry Crisp, who coached for five seasons. John Tortorella, the only American to head coach the team, was the first Lightning coach to have won the Prince of Wales Trophy,[5] the Stanley Cup,[2] and to have been awarded the Jack Adams Award, all of which happened in the 2003–04 season. Steve Ludzik and Jon Cooper are the only two head coaches who have spent their entire NHL head coaching careers with the Lightning.

Jon Cooper is the team's current head coach, having been named to the position on March 25, 2013.[6] Cooper is the only head coach of the Lightning to win the Prince of Wales Trophy four times.[7] Under Cooper, the franchise won its second Stanley Cup championship in 2020 and third championship in 2021. Cooper is the franchise's all-time leader for the most regular season wins (480), playoff games coached (139), and the most playoff-games won (84).

  1. ^ "Lightning Unveil Third Jerseys vs. Devils". NHL.com. Lincoln Hockey and the National Hockey League. 2008-11-23. Archived from the original on 2008-12-27. Retrieved 2008-12-21.
  2. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference cup was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ "1992-93 The Fun Begins". NHL.com. Lincoln Hockey and the National Hockey League. Archived from the original on 2008-12-17. Retrieved 2008-12-21.
  4. ^ "Tropicana Field History". MLB.com. MLB Advanced Media, L.P. Archived from the original on November 11, 2007. Retrieved 2008-12-21.
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference powt was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ "Lightning name Jon Cooper as head coach". Lightning.nhl.com. March 25, 2013. Retrieved March 25, 2013.
  7. ^ "Prince of Wales Trophy". NHL. The National Hockey League. Retrieved 2022-08-02.