Hockey Canada officially announced that Tampa Bay Lightning head coach Jon Cooper would lead its entry at the NHL’s 4Nations Face-Off in February, as well as the 2026 men’s Olympic team in Milan-Cortina, Italy.
The 4 Nations event, which will take place Feb. 12-20 in Montreal and Boston, will be the first best-on-best event for men’s hockey since the 2016 World Cup of Hockey and will also feature teams from the U.S., Sweden, and Finland.
Cooper was given the job by Team Canada GM Doug Armstrong of the St. Louis Blues and assistant GMs Don Sweeney (Bruins) and Jim Nill (Stars).
“Jon is a world-class person, coach and leader, and his impressive résumé and success in the NHL make him the perfect person to lead Team Canada over the next two years at the 4 Nations Face-Off and 2026 Olympic Winter Games,” Armstrong said in a statement. “Our management group knows that Jon will represent our country with pride while bringing his winning pedigree to the international stage, and we look forward to working with him as we build teams with the best NHL players in Canada at two marquee events.”
Hockey Canada said it will be announcing the first six players for the 4 Nations Face-Off roster in late June.
Cooper, 56, has coached the Lightning since taking over as a mid-season replacement in 2013. The Prince George, B.C., native has won the Stanley Cup twice (2020 and 2021) and lost in the final on two other occasions.
Cooper was slated to coach Canada at the 2022 Winter Games in Beijing, but the NHL ultimately did not participate. He coached Canada at the 2017 world hockey championship, winning a silver medal, and was an assistant coach for Team North America at the World Cup of Hockey.