Jon Cooper Throws Major Shade at the Maple Leafs in End-of-Season Interview

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Austin Kelly
April 30, 2023 (6:37 PM)

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Lightning Coach Jon Cooper Gives final season comments on Leafs win.

Tampa Bay Head Coach Jon Cooper, never a stranger to a gated quote, and had strong words when asked about the team.

Cooper spoke on the Lightning's season after being asked if last season's cup final squad played better.

Jon Cooper defended the Lightning, saying that he agreed, but said the Leafs had been the better team in the end.

Cooper said,

I am not going to get into a debate about who is the better team. They beat us 4-2. Statistics say they were the better team than us.

Cooper also added that he felt Tampa played well enough to win, but couldn't close it own in the end.

Do I sit here and think we could've done anything different to change the tide? No. We played well enough to win the series. Anyone who watched the series would agree with that, but you can't lose three overtime games at home.

In classic Cooper fashion, his quotes come with his familiar defense of his team, through better or worse, with a hint of realism for the situation, which some would find as either a compliment of Toronto's outmaneuvering of Tampa's gameplan, or a thinly veiled shade at a team that just got lucky.

Regardless of his comments, Toronto, now off to the second round, has little to worry about beyond what anyone says, and Tampa, on to the off-season, is ready to continue putting faith in a roster already proven to win.