Tampa Bay Lightning head coach Jon Cooper is one of the more likeable coaches in the NHL. He is no stranger to establishing “Cooperisms” in press conferences based on his quirky remarks, and he always seems to have some interesting and honest insight to matters.
On Friday, Cooper’s postgame presser remarks shined through with class.
Following the Bolts’ 1-0 victory over the New York Islanders in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup semifinal, Cooper touched on an issue that has been close to the hearts of Canadians for a long time; attendance at sporting events. While Montreal was a full-on party following the Habs’ series clinching victory on Thursday, there were still only a limited number of fans allowed to enter Bell Centre and take the game in live.
Cooper, along with all of Montreal, is hoping that can change.
Pretty classy remarks from Cooper considering his Bolts would be directly impacted by a larger crowd presence cheering on their opposition. Odds are, however, that most NHL players would rather play in front of opposing fans on the road than no fans at all.
Regardless of whether capacity is bumped up at the Bell Centre, you can bet there will be a raucous environment inside and outside the arena either way.
