The Lightning suddenly have an opening on their coaching staff after assistant Jeff Blashill was hired to become the new head coach of the Blackhawks on Thursday. Blashill was a trusted member of Jon Cooper’s staff the past three seasons,

Blashill, 51, spent the past three seasons as an assistant with the Tampa Bay Lightning. Before that, he spent seven seasons as head coach of the Detroit Red Wings from 2015-22.

Blashill, a former head coach for Detroit and a college goaltender, spent the last three seasons as an assistant to Jon Cooper with the Lightning.