Lightning head coach Jon Cooper will have some extra duties coming his way in the near future. In his latest column for The Athletic (subscription link), Pierre LeBrun reports that Tampa Bay’s bench boss is expected to be named as Canada’s head coach for the upcoming 4 Nations Cup as well as the 2026 Olympics. LeBrun adds that Hockey Canada considered having a separate head coach for each event but, like the United States with Mike Sullivan, has ultimately settled on having the same one for both. Cooper has coached internationally at three events in the past. He was Canada’s head coach at the 2017 Worlds, coached Team North America at the World Cup that same year, and was an assistant for the U.S. at the 2007 Ivan Hlinka Memorial tournament.
More from the Atlantic Division:
- Speaking at a season ticket holder session, Senators Senior Vice President Dave Poulin indicated that they have fielded trade interest in the seventh-overall selection, per Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch (Twitter link). Ottawa underachieved considerably this season as instead of pushing for a playoff spot, they were well out of the mix early, resulting in changes both in the front office and behind the bench. The Sens have to forfeit one of their first-round picks between now and 2026 as part of the punishment for failing to disclose Evgenii Dadonov’s no-trade clause to Vegas in 2021, eventually resulting in a failed trade to Anaheim the following year. However, with this pick being so early, they wisely decided not to make this the year they lost the selection.
- The Red Wings’ farm team has added one of the more intriguing remaining college free agents as AHL Grand Rapids announced the signing of Gabriel Seger to a one-year deal. The 24-year-old had a breakout showing in his final collegiate campaign, leading Cornell in scoring with 14 goals and 30 assists in 44 games although it wasn’t enough to land him an NHL deal in recent weeks.
- Arizona State University associate coach Albie O’Connell is expected to leave the program to pursue an NHL opportunity, relays PHNX Sports’ Craig Morgan (Twitter link). College Hockey News’ Mike McMahon adds (Twitter link) that O’Connell is expected to be hired by the Canadiens. If that holds true, it will be his second stint with the organization after serving as a college scout for Montreal back in 2022-23 before returning behind an NCAA bench this past season.