So, our Stanley Cup Final matchup is set: The Tampa Bay Lightning, fresh off their series-clinching win against the New York Islanders, will get the Dallas Stars for the chance to win it all.
Believe it or not, with Jon Cooper coaching the Lightning opposite Stars bench boss Rick Bowness, this will actually be the first time we get a coaching matchup between a head coach and their former assistant in the Stanley Cup Final.
Bowness, currently the interim head coach of the Stars, spent five years under Cooper as an assistant coach for the Lightning from 2013 to 2018.
It's especially remarkable that Bowness is doing this as in an interim role. His last time in the head coach role was back in 2003-04 with the Phoenix Coyotes, again as an interim head coach, and before that he was the Islanders head coach for a season and a half in the mid-90s. What we’re saying is, it’s been a minute for Bowness as the bench boss, but he’s leading a remarkable Stars run through the playoffs.
Cooper, meanwhile, has been the Lightning coach for eight seasons now and clearly still going strong. This storyline between the two coaches should be one of the more interesting ones to follow... as if we needed another reason to get excited for the Stanley Cup Final!
