Lightning Coach, Jon Cooper, Channels John Tortorella To Respond To Questions About Ben BIshop

Cooper asked about Bishop: "In honor of the 11 yr anniversary of our organization's 1st Stanley Cup, how would John Tortorella answer that."

— Dan Rosen (@drosennhl) June 7, 2015

Cooper says he doesn't know who will start in goal tomorrow, and then says that should tell you Bishop might be available.

— Dan Rosen (@drosennhl) June 7, 2015

Talk about the most socially acceptable way of saying "what the fuck do you think?". Don't answer the media in an abrasive way, just ask them to consider how the most abrasive head coach in NHL history would respond. Can I get my aggressive with a side of passive please? That's the best way of avoiding ending up on a every newsreel in the nation for not cooperating with reporters, but still accomplishing the same goal. Hell, Tortorella already did the dirty work, now Jon Cooper just gets to link his feelings to one of his predecessors. Cater to the Lightning fans by name dropping their Stanley Cup winning former coach while making it clear to the media that a certain line of questioning is over. Win-win if you ask me. 

How badly was Cooper dying to use this too? Once he realized it was the 11 year anniversary of the franchise's first Stanley Cup win a John Tortorella reference was instantly working it's way into the presser. I am actually impressed that Cooper found an appropriate time to incorporate it, because make no mistake it was coming out regardless. Sometimes when you got a joke on the tip of your tongue it's got to come out before it gets lost in obscurity forever, even if the moment isn't right. A tip of the hat to Jon Cooper for finding the right moment and acknowledging the biggest accomplishment in franchise history.