Tampa Bay Lightning coach Jon Cooper began his end-of-season press conference on Wednesday by saying sorry for using an inappropriate analogy. He mentioned regretting his comment about putting skirts on goalies.
After the Game 5 loss that ended his team’s playoff run on Monday, Cooper expressed frustration over two decisions on goalie interference that impacted the outcome of the game. The Lightning had two goals disallowed because of interference with Sergei Bobrovsky, as determined by the NHL situation room.
As the league’s longest-serving coach, Cooper acknowledged his mistake, especially considering he’s a father to two daughters who are athletes and a supporter of women’s hockey.
He stated, “If I could take back those words, I would.” Cooper plans to address his remarks with his daughters personally, recognizing the impact of his words. He extended his sincere apologies to everyone he offended, emphasizing that his words caused him more distress than the playoff loss itself.
Under Cooper’s tenure, Tampa Bay has qualified for the playoffs in 10 out of his 11 seasons as coach, winning the Stanley Cup consecutively in 2020 and 2021.
