Jon Cooper might be the most accomplished current NHL coach. He’s been a beacon of stability and success for the Tampa Bay Lightning since being named their head coach for the 2013-2014 season. His tenure has seen playoff appearances in all but one season, four conference champions, and two Stanley Cup championships, including a run of three straight finals appearances.
On December 31st, Cooper reached the inevitable honor of his 1,000th career NHL game as a head coach. That’s not bad for a former lawyer who worked his way up the organization’s coaching ranks. Of course, the team had a little pregame ceremony prior to their game against the Colorado Avalanche.
The J.C. Newman Cigar Company of Tampa made Cooper and his staff an especially memorable gift when they made commemorative cigars for the coaching milestone. The company said the request came from one of the assistant coaches and also presented Cooper with a custom humidor (the special container cigars are normally kept in). Each cigar has a band that has the Lightning’s official “Coop 1000” logo on it.
The cigars are a special gift that pays homage to the Tampa Bay region. Tampa has long been known as “cigar city” due to the historical prescence of the industry in the area. The Ybor City neighborhood was once known as the “cigar capital of the world”. Cigars have become as synonymous with the region as the annual Gasparilla pPirate Festival. This is a uniquely local gift that is fittingly for the Tampa Bay region. Remember back in 2022 when the Coors Brewing Company in Denver, Colorado brewed special beer made with melted ice from the Colorado Avalanche rink? This is the same idea.
Cooper has become a cigar enthusiast himself and was even featured in the “Cigar Aficionado” magazine. In his article he explained he began enjoying cigars because that’s what his teams smoke after championships, so he “equated cigars to winning”. J.C. Newman, who made his special cigars, even has their own cigar lounge in the Lightning’s home arena for fans to smoke while watching the on ice action. Not surprisingly it’s the only one in the NHL.
J.C. Newman limited Cooper’s special cigar to only 1,000 made. Unfortunately for hockey fans who double as cigar buffs the cigar will not be commercially available. Maybe if you become a coach and make it to a 1,000 games you can get your own.