“I’m seeing much more out of the group now, especially Connor [McDavid],” Cooper commented, per TSN. “Not that he wasn’t comfortable [last year], but I think there was a lot of uncertainty because we hadn’t seen best-on-best and this group hadn’t been together for so long, and in this tournament he’s been fabulous.”

Needless to say, Jon Cooper’s words may have come at the perfect time, as Connor McDavid and Team Canada scramble to weather the storm after Sidney Crosby went down with an injury.

Cooper and his staff refuse to confirm whether Crosby is out for the remainder of the 2026 Winter Olympics. Still, after McDavid and Canada received a key injury update on Crosby, it appears the captain now faces a steep uphill battle if he hopes to return to the ice.

McDavid is put on notice

Though McDavid is used to getting praise, he is also accustomed to being on the receiving end of candid shots. That duality follows him in Milan, just as it does back in the NHL with Edmonton.

Recently, McDavid received a warning from Finland’s head coach Antti Pennanen, as the “Suomi” are set to battle the Maple Leafs for a ticket to the gold-medal game. All is fair in love and war. So it’s only fitting that there are no holds barred in the Olympics, whose origins are closely intertwined with warfare.

Will McDavid captain Team Canada if Crosby is out?

Due to international hockey rules, every team is required to have a captain in its active lineup. Under normal circumstances, Crosby would never be stripped of his title as Captain Canada. However, if he is indeed ruled out for the semifinal against Finland, an emergency captain must be named.

Based on Cooper’s statements, along with what his teammates say about him—and last but certainly not least, his impact on the ice—it’s easy to imagine McDavid wearing the C. Still, the last thing Canada will do is lose hope in Crosby. If there’s a way back onto the ice, they know their captain is the only person capable of finding it.

As reported by Ryan Rishaug of TSN, Team Canada has decided to hold its morning skate ahead of the semifinal behind closed doors. The news comes as a surprise, considering Doug Armstrong, Team Canada’s general manager, had previously confirmed that no more practices would be closed to the media.

Desperate times, call for desperate measures. As Sidney Crosby’s injury sparks fear of a worst-case scenario, it’s clear Jon Cooper, Canada, and company will be extra cautious.

Whether Crosby plays or not will likely go down to the wire, and Team Canada is making sure to set all distractions aside as their captain skates to test himself before the semis. The team’s latest measure is yet another example of Cooper and Canada announcing a key decision on Crosby for the rest of the Winter Olympics.

When does Canada play?

With or without Sidney Crosby, the show must go on—and what a spectacle the 2026 Winter Olympics have provided so far. With a trip to the gold medal game on the line, Cooper’s Team Canada will take on Finland on February 20th at 10:40 am ET. The winner of that semifinal will await for the victor when Team USA and Slovakia face off at 3:10 pm ET.

Team Canada’s projected lines without Crosby

If Crosby is indeed unable to dress for the semifinal, then Florida Panthers center Sam Bennett could find his way back into the lineup. If that’s the case, this is how Team Canada’s forward lines could look against Finland at Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena.

• Macklin Celebrini – Connor McDavid – Tom Wilson
• Brandon Hagel – Nathan MacKinnon – Seth Jarvis
• Mitch Marner – Nick Suzuki – Mark Stone
• Brad Marchand – Bo Horvat – Sam Reinhart
• Extra: Sam Bennett

The lines will be confirmed after the morning skate before the game. Since the media won’t be allowed to attend, Jon Cooper is keeping everyone in the dark—including Finland—about whether Sidney Crosby will play and how Canada’s lineup will look.

“This will not be Sid’s last game at the Olympics,” Cooper admitted was the common statement around the locker room after Crosby went down with a lower-body injury and Canada was down 2-1 to Czechia, via Sportsnet’s Kyle Bukauskas.

Obviously, moving on was all Canada cared about. Now that has been achieved—thanks to Mitch Marner’s game-winning goal in sudden-death overtime—the focus shifts to figuring out Crosby’s injury. Who will Canada play next in the 2026 Winter Olympics is yet to be decided. Regardless, having Crosby available will be crucial to the Maple Leaf’s success.

Injury update

“Cooper said Crosby will be evaluated and Crosby just felt he wasn’t in position to help the team the rest of the night,” according to Michael Russo of The Athletic.

Now, Cooper and the rest of Team Canada will enjoy the win, while sitting anxiously outside the medical room, waiting for news on Crosby’s injury. It goes without saying, but missing the captain for the rest of the way could be catastrophic for The Great White North.

Crosby leads off the ice, too

There is a reason Crosby was named Team Canada’s captain for the Olympics. Despite boasting household names across the lineup, Crosby’s captaincy was never at stake—and as long as Crosby is active, it never will.

His leadership was on full display even after he was forced out of the quarterfinal against Czechia. In that regard, Marner revealed Crosby’s message to Team Canada after the injury—a message that helped rally the group and propel them past the Czechs.

On a day that could have turned disastrous, Canada fought to survive and keep its gold-medal dream alive. Now, the Canadians can rest and await the semifinal Olympic hockey bracket. In the meantime, they will hold their breath, hoping Crosby can return as well.

Scoreboard watchers could argue that a 4-1 loss—in which the final goal came on an empty net—is far from a tragic outcome in the NHL. However, in this case, the final score doesn’t do the story of the night justice. Sullivan and the Rangers were blown out of the water by Cooper’s Lightning. If not for Igor Shesterkin, the goal tally could’ve reached season highs. After the game, Sullivan didn’t mince words on his thoughts.

“We got outcompeted from the drop of the puck,” Sullivan commented per NHL.com. “There’s got to be a willingness and a want to be first to pucks, to embrace physicality. We knew the type of game it was going to be.

“That team, they’ve got hard skill, they compete and they skate. That was the type of game it was going to be. I don’t think we had the wherewithal to match the intensity. I just feel we lost puck battles all over the rink and it’s hard to establish any sort of game that you want to play if you don’t win puck battles.”

Cooper’s postgame comment

As for Cooper and the Bolts, their stay in The Big Apple couldn’t have been any better. Coming into the campaign with sky-high hopes, the Lightning have seemingly managed to exceed expectations. After the commanding victory against the Rangers, Cooper made sure to praise his players for yet another spotless outing.

“Honestly, we’ve got a really good vibe going,” Cooper admitted. “These back-to-backs are tough. We knew they had it too, and they had a goalie that was playing both games so we thought, hopefully we could jump on them early. Fortunately, we did.”

Lightning strikes twice—and more

Tampa Bay has now won seven straight, improved to 16-7-2 (8-2-2 away) on the NHL season, and is shaping up to be the biggest threat in the Eastern Conference. Only a glance around the locker room tells everything that needs to be known about the juggernaut in Cigar City.

The Lightning boast a roster that knows what it takes to win, a head coach whose leadership is second to none, an annual Hart Trophy candidate in Nikita Kucherov, enough depth to intimidate any opponent, and a goaltender in Andrei Vasilevskiy who routinely makes saves the human body shouldn’t be capable of. Needless to say, the Bolts are for real—and they made the most of their stay in New York City to put the league on notice.

The Rangers can’t catch a break

As for the Rangers, Shesterkin is capable of shutting the door just as well as any goalie in the league. However, with the team registering the fifth-lowest goals per game and the seventh-worst shots per game—2.63 and 25.9, respectively—the Russian netminder often finds himself left hanging out to dry. That’s especially true at Madison Square Garden, where the Blueshirts are 2-8-1 this season and have been outscored 31-17.

Marchand and the Panthers haven’t forgotten about the heated preseason showdown with the Lightning. Even if Florida wanted to move on, the latest roster moves in Tampa made sure to remind the Cats about it. When the Cats and Bolts meet at Amerant Bank Arena on Nov. 15, a public enemy will return to Sunrise for the first time since being suspended by the NHL.

“The Tampa Bay Lightning have recalled forwards Boris Katchouk and Scott Sabourin from the Syracuse Crunch of the American Hockey League,” as announced by the organization through an official statement.

With Cooper and his staff mired in an injury crisis, changes were expected to the lineup. However, calling up two players known for their physical style could be seen as a warning shot to Marchand and the Panthers. If tempers flared in the preseason, there’s no reason to believe the air will be any less tense when these two despised organizations meet in a crucial Atlantic Division matchup.

What happened the last time Sabourin faced Marchand and the Panthers?

Sabourin has yet to make his official debut with the Lightning. However, he made quite a statement during the NHL preseason finale. As the Bolts lost 7-0 to the Cats in a meaningless game ahead of the regular season, Sabourin went after defenseman Aaron Ekblad with no other intention but to injure the Panthers’ star blueliner.

As a result, the Department of Player Safety suspended him for four games. While he served his punishment, Sabourin has yet to make an appearance in the 2025-26 campaign. With the game against the Panthers circled in red, he is trending to make his way into the lineup for the Battle of Florida in Sunrise.

Almost as if fate would have it, Sabourin’s last NHL appearance came during the 2024-25 season—against none other than the Panthers, while playing for the San Jose Sharks.

The Battle of Florida: Panthers vs Lightning

When people ask just how much the league has grown and evolved, mentioning that one of the fiercest rivalries in the NHL now takes place between two organizations in the state of Florida should paint a clear picture.

Either the Panthers or the Lightning has appeared in each of the last six Stanley Cup Finals, highlighting just how competitive hockey has become in The Sunshine State. Yet, for all they’ve done to grow the sport in Florida, these two teams absolutely despise each other. The Cats and Bolts can’t stand one another, and it makes for guaranteed entertainment whenever they go head-to-head.

Bad blood between the Cats and Bolts

Last season, Florida and Tampa Bay met for the fourth time in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, with the Panthers prevailing and tying the all-time playoff series record at two apiece. The depth of their hatred is best reflected in their penalty minutes: during the 2024-25 campaign, the Bolts and Cats combined for a staggering 134 PIMs across four meetings—an average of 33.5 per game.

As the rivalry renews in the 2025-26 season, expect nothing less—especially with Sabourin expected to join the lineup, carrying a huge target on his back. Marchand and company won’t let the latest incident slide, so fans would be wise to buckle up, grab their popcorn, and get ready for an instant classic.

Tampa Bay had won five games in a row entering the matchup with Colorado. However, the streak was drastically halted by the Avalanche. With the 3-2 loss in Denver, Cooper and the Lightning suffered their first loss since October 23. After the game, Cooper dropped a powerful wake-up call.

“It was good for a bit, and then we got in our own way. And when we get in our own way, it’s usually going to be tough for us,” Jon Cooper commented, via NHL.com. “I loved our first period. It was unfortunate that [there were] untimely penalties. We took those tonight, but they were a better team for periods two and three. So, that was a little disappointing.”

Top of the food chain

Though a tough pill to swallow for Cooper and the Bolts, losing to the Avalanche on the road should be far from discouraging. MacKinnon and the Avs sit on top of the NHL standings with 21 points through the opening 14 games of the 2025-26 season.

Meanwhile, Tampa registers 14 points, which currently has the Bolts fifth in the Atlantic Division. The Eastern Conference is jampacked at the moment, as no team is currently below the .500 mark. It’s still very early, but the race for the Stanley Cup Playoffs could very well turn into a bloodbath in the East.

MacKinnon stays hot

With an assist against the Bolts, the former first overall pick in the 2013 NHL entry Draft extended his point streak. Now, MacKinnon has scored or assisted in seven straight outings. Moreover, the Avalanche’s star stays atop the league leaders. Through 14 games, MacKinnon has recorded 10 goals (tied for best in the league) and 10 assists.

It took a little longer than the former first overall pick expected, but Bedard finally scored his first hat trick. It was a long time coming, but the Blackhawks’ messiah has finally seen hats rain down on him at United Center. As Bedard made it clear with an honest admission after the win vs the Senators, doing so in front of the home fans in Windy City meant a lot more.

With the first three-game performance crossed off his ‘to-do list’ in the NHL, Bedard is now raising the stakes. As he spoke with media after the game, he delivered a sincere comment on his desire to join Team Canada for the upcoming 2026 Olympics in Milan.

“Of course, if that’s something that I get to do, that would be unbelievable, and I would do anything to be on that team,” Bedard told NHL.com. “But I’m trying to take things day by day and have fun playing in the NHL and trying to grow as a team and win hockey games and do everything I can to play my best hockey. In the end, that’ll be what puts me in a spot to make it.”

Could come back to bite him

Needless to say, if Bedard can keep up his current form, he’d be a key addition for the Canadian national team during the Olympics. However, Team Canada has enough firepower to put together more than one star-studded roster. When it comes to Bedard in particular, his recent decision during the 2025 IIHF World Championship could play a role.

Bedard had been invited to participate in the World Championship taking place in Denmark and Sweden. However, the Blackhawks star opted to turn it down and instead focus on his training for the 2025-26 NHL season. Now, as Bedard is on the outside looking in, Cooper and Team Canada’s staff could give him a taste of his own medicine and look elsewhere.

Follow the leader

Entering the 2025-26 NHL campaign, all the eyes in Chicago were fixed on Bedard to lead the young team during Jeff Blashill’s first year as head coach. Whether it makes sense or not, 20-year-old Bedard is seen as an experienced leader. So far, he’s produced as one, too. 10 games into the season, Bedard leads the Blackhawks with 12 points—thanks to 6 goals and 6 assists.

With him leading the way, the Hawks have reason to believe. Even if it’s unrealistic for the rebuilding team in the City of Big Shoulders, Blackhawks fans are excited about the NHL season for the first time in years. That’s a success in itself—and it signals a roadmap for Bedard and company to follow.

Phoenix Copley will surely hope he hasn’t lost the number of his real-estate agent in Los Angeles. After being claimed by Cooper and the Lightning off waivers prio to the start of the NHL season, the veteran goalie is headed back to the City of Angels.

“The Kings have acquired goaltender Pheonix Copley from the Tampa Bay Lightning in exchange for future considerations,” as announced by @LAKingsPR on X (formerly Twitter).

Short-lived stay in Big Guava

While the 33-year-old netminder hoped a change of scenery might re-ignite his NHL career, it simply wasn’t meant to be in Tampa. With rumors of Andrei Vasilevskiy being injured, Copley’s chances to man the Bolts’ crease temporarily increased. However, with Vasilevskiy having played in three of Tampa’s four games, there is no spot for the waiver addition in the lineup.

Instead, the goaltender born and raised in North Pole, Alaska (not the actual North Pole, but a town roughly 1,700 miles from the top of the world) is headed back to Los Angeles. The odds of him serving an extended role like he did during the 2023-24 campaign—when he appeared in 37 games—are slim to none, however.

Goaltending room in LA

With Copley’s return to the organization, the Kings now boast a goalie room filled with experience. Darcy Kuemper (35), Anton Forsberg (32), and Phoenix Copley (33) will be competing for ice-time, though the former is the clear-cut starter. Los Angeles boasts one of the oldest goaltending rooms in the NHL.

After trading for Copley, the Kings have assigned 25-year-old Erik Portillo to the AHL affiliate Ontario Reign. In addition to Portillo, the Kings have 19-year-old goalie George Carter, who is signed to his entry-level contract, in their ranks as well.

The NHL season wouldn’t feel right if there weren’t bad blood already boiling between the Panthers and Lightning. The Battle of Florida is alive and well—and the two organizations have yet to meet in an official game.

Following Scott Sabourin’s roughing call against Ekblad during the preseason finale, the Department of Player Safety stepped in, handing the forward on the Lightning a multi-game suspension.

“Tampa Bay Lightning forward Scott Sabourin is suspended four games for roughing against Panthers defenseman Aaron Ekblad,” as announced by @NHLPlayerSafety through its X account (formerly Twitter).

Sent a message

After a heated preseason game in Tampa, the Bolts and Cats met again in Sunrise for the third and final time in the NHL preseason. Right from the get-go, the Lightning came out of the gate determined to go after the reigning Stanley Cup champions.

Just over two minutes into the game, Sabourin chased Ekblad into the end wall before delivering a body hit. It was all legal up to that point, but the undrafted veteran then struck the former first-overall pick in the face and dropped the gloves, even though Ekblad had no intention of getting into a fight.

It was clear the Lightning weren’t looking to win as much as they were trying to avenge the events of the past game. As a result, three Bolts’ players were ejected in the opening 15 minutes. What was supposed to be an exhibition turned ugly, leading to 322 penalty minutes, 16 ejections, and two suspensions handed out to Tampa Bay.

In addition to Sabourin, blueliner J.J. Moser has been suspended two games for boarding Florida forward Jesper Boqvist. Contrary to Sabourin, Moser might play a big role for Cooper and the Bolts. Last season, he made 54 appearances, recording 14 points (2G, 12A).

Can afford it

While a four-game suspension to start the season would be costly for any NHL team when it comes to key players, Sabourin isn’t quite that for Cooper’s Lightning. Since 2020, Sabourin has played in just 12 NHL games, being mostly utilized in the AHL.

After signing as a free agent in Tampa during the summer, his role isn’t expected to change. His spot on the organization is most likely reserved on the Syracuse Crunch. Thus, him being suspended four games by the NHL is anything but a big blow to the roster in Cigar City.

The Lightning are welcoming undrafted goaltender Phoenix Copley to their ranks ahead of the 2025-26 NHL season-opener. While an intriguing addition to the team in the Big Guava, most fans see it as a bad sign on Vasilevskiy’s status.

As first reported by Frank Seravalli on X, the Bolts have claimed Copley from waivers, where the Los Angeles Kings had placed him. Though Copley played a big role for the team in L.A. during the 2022-23 NHL campaign, he’s since only appeared in nine games in the past two seasons. Copley has spent most of that time with the Ontario Reign in the AHL.

Next man up

While reports suggest Vasilevskiy is manning the crease for Tampa Bay during Saturday’s preseason finale, signs indicate the two-time Stanley Cup champion may not be fully healthy.

“At first glance, it might be a concerning situation arising as Andrei Vasilevskiy has been absent for most of training camp for what the team has described as ‘player maintenance‘,” as reported by lightninginsider.com on Copley’s waiver addition.

If that’s the case, Cooper and the staff in Cigar City may have to turn to other names in the goaltending room. Jonas Johansson is expected to round out the tandem behind Vasilevskiy and would therefore get the start if the Russian goalie can’t dress for the season opener on October 9 against the Ottawa Senators. Still, Copley could make a lasting first impression and earn his shot in the Bolts’ net.

North Pole-native

Born in North Pole, Alaska—1,700 miles from the actual North Pole—Copley is one of the NHL’s more intriguing names. The 33-year-old netminder is now looking to re-establish himself as a viable option in goal. He managed to do just that with the Kings during the 2022-23 season, appearing in 37 games for Los Angeles.

Since then, however, things have trended downward. Last season, Copley saw the ice only once, coming in for relief of David Rittich, who had allowed four goals on 14 shots. The Kings went on to lose 6-2 to the Toronto Maple Leafs, and Copley hasn’t stood between the pipes in the NHL since that rough outing on October 16, 2024.

The modern NHL is a chess match played at breakneck speed. While the spotlight is on the players, the true masterminds are on the bench. A coach’s tactical genius and leadership can mean the difference between championship glory and defeat.

Winning the Stanley Cup is an expensive business. As the stakes rise, so does the price for a winning formula. Teams are no longer shy about opening their wallets for the strategic vision they believe can deliver a championship.

The NHL has entered a new era where strategic value is measured in millions. This season’s highest-paid coaches aren’t just bench bosses; they are franchises’ most significant investments in the chase for a championship.

Bruce Cassidy – Vegas Golden Knights ($4.5 million)

Bruce Cassidy is a master of adaptation. His arrival in Las Vegas was a bold statement by the Golden Knights, who were looking for a coach capable of leading them to the promised land, and he did it in his first season.

His $4.5 million annual salary is the price of a Stanley Cup, as to Front Office Sports reported. He is a defensive-minded strategist who focuses on discipline and attention to detail, a philosophy that perfectly fit the Golden Knights’ mindset.

His ability to take a talented team and turn it into a champion in such a short time has positioned him as one of the league’s highest-paid and most valued coaches. His contract is a reward for immediate success and for the validation that his system is elite.

Jared Bednar – Colorado Avalanche ($4.9 million)

Jared Bednar doesn’t fit the traditional mold of an elite coach. His path to success has been more understated, but his annual salary, close to $4.9 million according to Front Office Sports, reflects the immense confidence of the Colorado Avalanche front office.

Bednar is a calm and calculating strategist who transformed a struggling franchise into an NHL powerhouse and Stanley Cup champion. He is the second-longest-tenured coach in the league, which underscores his value in a high-pressure environment.

His success is built on his ability to get the most out of his roster’s talent and his high-speed playing philosophy. His contract is a clear endorsement of his vision, proving that in the world of hockey, consistency and quiet excellence come at a very high price.

Jon Cooper – Tampa Bay Lightning ($5.3 million)

Jon Cooper is not just a coach; he is the architect behind one of modern hockey’s most impressive dynasties. His annual salary, estimated at $5.3 million according to Front Office Sports, is more than just a figure—it’s a recognition of his unprecedented longevity and success with the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Unlike others on this list who have moved between teams, he has been the rock of Tampa Bay, guiding the franchise to multiple finals and Stanley Cups with a blend of talent development and a versatile, offensive-minded philosophy.

In a league where stability behind the bench is rare, he is a testament to what can be achieved when a club and a coach have a shared long-term vision, and his salary is the reward for that unshakeable and successful partnership.

Mike Sullivan – New York Rangers ($6.5 million)

Mike Sullivan is not just a coach; he is one of the NHL’s most revered tactical minds. His arrival with the New York Rangers isn’t just a signing; it’s a record-breaking five-year, $32.5 million investment, setting a new benchmark for a head coach’s salary, as Front Office Sports reported.

The number doesn’t just speak to his past success—including two consecutive Stanley Cups with the Penguins—but to the front office’s urgency to bring in a proven leader capable of turning potential into a championship reality.

He is a strategist who demands the utmost from his players, and his teams are known for their discipline and relentless pace. In a demanding market like New York, his contract is a testament to the belief that he is the perfect man to guide the franchise to the top of the hockey world.