Lightning coach facing backlash due to Stanley Cup celebration during COVID-19
Tampa Bay Lightning assistant coach Jeff Halpern is taking heat for the celebration he threw during his day with the Stanley Cup this past weekend.
Halpern, 44, had his Cup party at the Don CeSar hotel at St. Pete Beach. The party was reportedly a private celebration on the beach with family and friends. Reports have since come out that there were roughly 50 people in attendance. On top of that, there were at least three different individuals who sipped from the Stanley Cup.
This is something that happens every year, and normally wouldn't be an issue. However, given the fact that we are in a global pandemic, along with cases in Florida rising daily, it isn't a great look for Halpern. This comes just two months after the Lightning as a team took flack for their Stanley Cup celebration, which saw large gatherings coming together to drink from the Cup. Witnesses of Halpern's party also mentioned there was nobody trying to clean out and disinfect the Cup between drinks.
The Florida Department of Health reported more than 10,000 new coronavirus cases on Sunday, which is the largest increase in months. On top of that, there were 29 resident deaths. Overall, Florida has had more than 885,000 COVID-19 cases, and more than 17,000 deaths. The Lightning have yet to issue a statement on this.
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YESTERDAY
JUNE 6, 2026
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| G | A | PTS | ||
| Mitch Marner | 3 | 1 | 4 | |
| Tomas Hertl | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Jordan Staal | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Shea Theodore | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Sebastian Aho | - | 2 | 2 | |
| Brayden McNabb | - | 2 | 2 | |
| Taylor Hall | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Jordan Martinook | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Andrei Svechnikov | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Jackson Blake | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Jack Eichel | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Brett Howden | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Seth Jarvis | - | 1 | 1 | |
| William Karlsson | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Eric Robinson | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Jaccob Slavin | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Logan Stankoven | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Frederik Andersen | - | - | - | |
| Rasmus Andersson | - | - | - | |
| Ivan Barbashev | - | - | - | |
| COMPLETE STATS | ||||