TAMPA -- Jon Cooper apologized for comments he made Monday after the Tampa Bay Lightning were eliminated from the Stanley Cup Playoffs in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference First Round against the Florida Panthers.
The Lightning had two goals disallowed for goalie interference in the first two periods of the 6-1 loss, which was a 2-1 game heading into the third.
Cooper questioned the interpretation of the rules after the game.
"It's like…net-front battles aren't allowed anymore?" Cooper said Monday. "That's part of everybody's game. The boxing out that goes there, it's like prison rules in the playoffs, but it's not prison rules for the goalie? The second something happens…we might as well put skirts on them then if that's how it's going to be."
On Wednesday, Cooper said his comments were offensive and he deeply regretted them.
"So, as you know, we had a pretty disappointing series loss the other night and I made an inappropriate analogy about goalies and skirts," Cooper said. "You know, it's one of those moments if you could just reach back and grab the words back, I would have.
"As a father of two [daughters] and a massive supporter of women's hockey…I have girls that play sports. Quite frankly, it was wrong and I have to go explain myself to my girls. I sincerely apologize to all I've offended. It's paining me more than the actual series loss itself. It's one of those moments that I don't think my actions of the past have led me. … I hope you judge me more on those maybe than emotional, quite frankly, dumb words that came out of my mouth the other night."
The Lightning, who made the Stanley Cup Final three straight seasons from 2020-22, have lost in the first round of the playoffs each of the past two seasons.
Cooper, the longest-tenured coach in the NHL, is 525-279-75 in 879 games. He has won the Stanley Cup twice with Tampa Bay (2020, 2021).
