List of Tampa Bay Lightning head coaches
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, as seen from their third jerseys,[1] the team joined the NHL in 1992 as an expansion team, and won their first Stanley Cup championship in 2004.[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, Steve Yzerman is their general manager, and Steven Stamkos is the team captain.
There have been eight 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, is the franchise's all-time leader for the most regular-season games coached (535), the most regular-season game wins (239), the most regular-season points (552), the most playoff games coached (45), and the most playoff-game wins (24). Tortorella 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, Rick Tocchet, and Jon Cooper have spent their entire NHL head coaching careers with the Lightning. The team's current head coach is Jon Cooper, who was named to the position on March 25, 2013.[6] During the 2014-15 NHL season, Cooper became the second coach in team history to win the Prince of Wales Trophy.[7]
Key
| # | Number of coaches[a] |
| GC | Games coached |
| W | Wins = 2 points |
| L | Losses = 0 points |
| T | Ties = 1 point |
| OT | Overtime/shootout losses = 1 point[b] |
| PTS | Points |
| Win% | Winning percentage |
| * | Spent entire NHL head coaching career with the Lightning |
Coaches
Note: Statistics are correct through the end of the 2015–16 regular season.
| # | Name | Term[c] | Regular season | Playoffs | Achievements | Reference | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GC | W | L | T/OT | PTS | PTS% | GC | W | L | Win% | |||||
| 1 | Terry Crisp | 1992–1997 | 391 | 142 | 204 | 45 | 329 | .421 | 6 | 2 | 4 | .333 | [8] | |
| 2 | Jacques Demers | 1997–1999 | 147 | 34 | 96 | 17 | 85 | .289 | — | — | — | — | [9] | |
| 3 | Steve Ludzik* | 1999–2001 | 121 | 31 | 67 | 23 | 85 | .351 | — | — | — | — | [10] | |
| 4 | John Tortorella | 2001–2008 | 535 | 239 | 222 | 74 | 552 | .516 | 45 | 24 | 21 | .533 | 2003–04 Prince of Wales Trophy winner[5] 2003–04 Jack Adams Award winner[11] 2004 Stanley Cup championship[2] |
[12] |
| 5 | Barry Melrose | 2008 | 16 | 5 | 7 | 4 | 14 | .438 | — | — | — | — | [13] | |
| 6 | Rick Tocchet* | 2008–2010 | 148 | 53 | 69 | 26 | 132 | .446 | — | — | — | — | [14] | |
| 7 | Guy Boucher | 2010–2013 | 196 | 97 | 79 | 20 | 214 | .546 | 18 | 11 | 7 | .611 | [15] | |
| 8 | Jon Cooper* | 2013–present | 262 | 147 | 90 | 25 | 319 | .609 | 46 | 25 | 21 | .543 | 2014-15 Prince of Wales Trophy winner[16] | [17] |
Notes
- a A running total of the number of coaches of the Lightning. Thus, any coach who has two or more separate terms as head coach is only counted once.
- b Before the 2005–06 season, the NHL instituted a penalty shootout for regular season games that remained tied after a five-minute overtime period, which prevented ties.[18]
- c Each year is linked to an article about that particular NHL season.
References
- General
- "Tampa Bay Lightning Coach Register". Hockey-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved 2015-06-17.
- Specific
- ↑ "Lightning Unveil Third Jerseys vs. Devils". NHL.com. Lincoln Hockey and the National Hockey League. 2008-11-23. Retrieved 2008-12-21.
- 1 2 3 "2004 Stanley Cup Champions". NHL.com. Lincoln Hockey and the National Hockey League. Retrieved 2008-12-21.
- ↑ "1992-93 The Fun Begins". NHL.com. Lincoln Hockey and the National Hockey League. Retrieved 2008-12-21.
- ↑ "Tropicana Field History". MLB.com. MLB Advanced Media, L.P. Retrieved 2008-12-21.
- 1 2 "Prince of Wales Trophy". NHL. Lincoln Hockey and the National Hockey League. Retrieved 2008-12-21.
- ↑ "Lightning name Jon Cooper as head coach". Lightning.nhl.com. March 25, 2013. Retrieved March 25, 2013.
- ↑ "Prince of Wales Trophy". NHL. The National Hockey League. Retrieved 2015-07-15.
- ↑ "Terry Crisp Coaching Record". Hockey-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved 2008-12-21.
- ↑ "Jacques Demers Coaching Record". Hockey-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved 2008-12-21.
- ↑ "Steve Ludzik Coaching Record". Hockey-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved 2008-12-21.
- ↑ "Jack Adams Award". NHL. Lincoln Hockey and the National Hockey League. Retrieved 2008-12-21.
- ↑ "John Tortorella Coaching Record". Hockey-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved 2008-12-21.
- ↑ "Barry Melrose Coaching Record". Hockey-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved 2008-12-21.
- ↑ "Rick Tocchet Coaching Record". Hockey-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved 2008-12-21.
- ↑ "Guy Boucher hockey statistics & profile at hockeydb.com". Hockeydb.com. Hockey DB. Retrieved 2010-08-06.
- ↑ "Prince of Wales Trophy". NHL. The National Hockey League. Retrieved 2015-06-17.
- ↑ "Jon Cooper Coaching Record". Hockey-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved 2013-03-29.
- ↑ "Official Rules" (PDF). NHL.com. Lincoln Hockey and the National Hockey League. Retrieved 2008-12-21.