2026 Lightning Awards

By--NHL Public Relations

June 03, 2026

NEW YORK – Jon Cooper of the Tampa Bay Lightning is the 2025-26 recipient of the Jack Adams Award as “the NHL coach adjudged to have contributed the most to his team’s success,” as selected by the NHL Broadcasters’ Association.

Cooper was surprised with the trophy while at Tampa General Hospital for a ribbon-cutting ceremony on the Coop’s Catch for Kids Family Lounge, funded with proceeds from his annual charity fishing tournament.

A three-time Jack Adams finalist after finishing second in voting in 2018-19 and third in 2013-14, Cooper joins John Tortorella (2003-04) as the second head coach in Lightning history to capture the trophy.

Cooper received 36 first-place votes and was a top-three selection on 58 of 99 ballots for 226 voting points, prevailing over Lindy Ruff of the Buffalo Sabres (223 points) and Dan Muse of the Pittsburgh Penguins (199 points) in the closest three-way Jack Adams race since balloting results for this award were first published in 1983-84. Cooper’s winning margin (three voting points) is the second-narrowest overall, behind the one-point win by Ruff over Peter Laviolette, 155-154, in 2005-06. Points are allocated on a 5-3-1 basis for first through third place.

The longest-tenured active head coach in the NHL, Cooper led Tampa Bay (50-26-6, 106 points) to its ninth consecutive playoff berth (tied for the longest current run in the League) and 12th in his 13 full seasons at the helm of the franchise. The Lightning recorded their fifth 50-win campaign under Cooper’s guidance (and first since 2021-22) as well as their seventh 100-point season. They placed among the 2025-26 leaders (including shootout-deciding goals) in goal differential (2nd; +59), goals against (3rd; 231) and goals for (4th; 290). Tampa Bay also ranked among the NHL’s best in 5-on-5 goals for/against ratio (2nd; 1.29), road wins (t-2nd; 24), regulation wins (3rd; 40), comeback wins (3rd; 24), third-period goal differential (3rd; +21), penalty kill efficiency (3rd; 82.6%), home wins (t-3rd; 26) and points by defensemen (5th; 204) as Cooper – on Jan. 12 at PHI – became the second-fastest head coach in League history to reach 600 career wins (1,005 GC), behind only Scotty Bowman (1,002 GC).

By-- NHL Public Relations

June 06, 2026

NEW YORK -- Andrei Vasilevskiy of the Tampa Bay Lightning is the 2025-26 recipient of the Vezina Trophy, awarded “to the goaltender adjudged to be the best at his position,” as selected by NHL general managers.

Vasilevskiy was leaving Benchmark International Arena when he was surprised with the trophy by Tampa Bay police and a member of their K-9 unit who were investigating suspicious activity near his vehicle.

Vasilevskiy recorded his second career Vezina win and first since 2018-19 in his sixth season as a finalist. He placed second in 2024-25 and 2020-21, and finished third in 2019-20 and 2017-18. His six appearances as a Vezina finalist are matched by just three goaltenders under the trophy’s current selection criteria (since 1981-82): Martin Brodeur (9x), Patrick Roy (7x) and Dominik Hasek (6x).

Vasilevskiy received 17 first-place votes and was named on 28 ballots for 114 points, outdistancing the other two finalists locked in a tight race for second place. llya Sorokin of the New York Islanders, who collected eight first-place votes and 51 points, edged Jeremy Swayman of the Boston Bruins (two first-place votes, 46 points) for runner-up honors.

Highlighted by an 18-game point streak from Dec. 20 – Feb. 25 (17-0-1), Vasilevskiy topped the NHL with 39 victories in 58 starts (39-15-4, 2.31 GAA, .912 SV%, 2 SO) to guide the Lightning to their ninth consecutive postseason appearance – tied for the longest current run in the League. He became the sixth goaltender in NHL history to post at least nine 30-win seasons, with his active run of nine straight such campaigns the second-longest in League history behind only Brodeur (12 from 1995-96 through 2007-08). Vasilevskiy, the 19th overall selection in the 2012 NHL Draft, additionally placed among the 2025-26 League leaders in games allowing two or fewer goals (t-1st; 35), goals-against average (2nd; 2.31), save percentage (3rd; .912), starts (t-3rd; 58), minutes played (4th; 3,430:45), high-danger save percentage (7th; .844), mid-range save percentage (7th; .912) and saves (10th; 1,353).

By--NHL Public Relations

June 11, 2026

NEW YORK -- Right wing Nikita Kucherov of the Tampa Bay Lightning is the 2025-26 recipient of the Hart Memorial Trophy, presented “to the player adjudged to be the most valuable to his team,” as selected by the Professional Hockey Writers Association.

A journey that involved planes, automobiles and jet skis, Kucherov was surprised with the trophy by Phil Pritchard, the Keeper of the Cup.

A Hart Trophy finalist for the third consecutive season (3rd in 2024-25 and 2nd in 2023-24), the 32-year-old Kucherov claimed his second career win and first since 2018-19. He becomes the third player to go seven-plus years between Hart Trophy wins, joining Jean Beliveau (eight years, 1955-56 and 1963-64) and Sidney Crosby (seven years, 2006-07 and 2013-14).

Kucherov emerged as the winner of an epic three-way Hart Trophy balloting race featuring a trio of former winners of the award – Kucherov, Edmonton Oilers center Connor McDavid and Colorado Avalanche center Nathan MacKinnon – who had combined to win it five times in the eight-season span from 2016-17 through 2023-24. For the first time since the current points allocation system was established in 1995-96, all three finalists received at least 25 percent of all first-place votes.

The Tampa Bay right wing was a top-five selection on 196 of 198 ballots and received 72 first-place votes in collecting 1,436 points to post a razon-thin margin of victory – 10 voting points – over McDavid, who appeared as a top-five pick on all 198 ballots, including 68 first-place votes, for 1,426 points. MacKinnon was listed on 195 ballots in collecting 52 first-place votes and 1,297 points for third place. Kucherov’s winning margin of 10 points is the third-fewest in the 30 years under the current points allocation: Jose Theodore edged Jarome Iginla in a tiebreak (434-434, Theodore placed first with more first-place votes) in 2001-02 and Chris Pronger eked past Jaromir Jagr 396-395 in 1999-2000.

Kucherov finished second in the NHL with 44-86—130 in 76 games – 42 points more than his closest teammate (Jake Guentzel: 38-50—88 in 81 GP) – to power the Lightning to their ninth straight playoff berth. Kucherov’s 42-point edge was the second-largest gap between a team’s top two scorers in 2025-26, trailing just the 56-point difference between Macklin Celebrini (45-70—115 in 82 GP) and Will Smith (24-35—59 in 69 GP) of the San Jose Sharks. Kucherov, who found the scoresheet in 60 of his 76 appearances (78.9%), additionally ranked among the League leaders in points per game (1st; 1.71), even-strength assists (1st; 57), multi-assist performances (t-1st; 25), assists (2nd; 86), even-strength points (2nd; 92), multi-point performances (2nd; 40), plus/minus (t-3rd; +43), even-strength goals (4th; 35), power-play assists (4th; 29), multi-goal performances (t-4th; 8), power-play points (6th; 37), game-winning goals (t-7th; 8) and goals (8th; 44). Kucherov, who totaled 44-100—144 in 2023-24 (81 GP), became the 10th player in League history to produce multiple 130-point seasons. He also became the 17th-fastest player in NHL history to reach both the 1,000-point (809 GP on Oct. 25 vs. ANA) and 1,100-point (863 GP on March 12 vs. DET) milestones.