On Monday, Dec. 4, Victor Hedman laced up his skates for the 1000th time as an NHL player. He is only the third person to play 1,000 games for the Tampa Bay Lightning and the first defenseman in Lightning history to reach the milestone. While there have been plenty of talented defensemen to play for the Lightning, like Roman Hamrlik and Pavel Kubina, there is no question that Hedman is the greatest defenseman in franchise history.
Hedman is someone that you cannot tell the story of the Tampa Bay Lightning without. From his start in 2009 to today, he’s been a cornerstone of the Lightning and one of the best defensemen in the league. A milestone such as the 1000-game mark is a great time to reflect on what Hedman has accomplished in his illustrious career and what he has meant to the Lightning.
Prospect With a Pedigree
The defenseman from Örnsköldsvik, Sweden, had quite a bit of hype around him heading into the 2009 draft. He displayed a great deal of talent on the ice and was able to impress with his interviews before the draft. He was seen as a defenseman who could potentially do it all in the NHL. Scouts loved his size, his skating, and his playmaking ability. They looked at him as someone who could potentially be quite versatile and make an impact on the power play and the penalty kill. While his offensive ability made headlines, his defensive ability gained attention too. As a defenseman who played sound defense and had a scoring touch, he was a prospect that every team had their eyes on.
In the 2009 draft, hosted in Montreal, Hedman was taken second overall by the Lightning and was the first defenseman off the board. Between Hedman’s hometown’s rich history of NHL talent, with players like Peter Forsberg and the Sedin twins coming from there, and the comparisons to Chris Pronger, Hedman had quite a lot to live up to. The Lightning were confident that they had drafted the right guy and that he would make a great player to build a team around, along with the first overall pick from 2008’s draft, Steven Stamkos.
Hedman’s Instant Impact
Some prospects have to wait years to get the chance to crack an NHL lineup. That was not the case for Hedman. He immediately made the NHL roster and was on the ice for opening night in Atlanta, Georgia, on Oct. 3, 2009. The Lightning might have lost that night by a score of 6-3, but it was still a memorable game for the young defenseman. He recorded his first assist and logged over 26 minutes of ice time, which is more than impressive for a player making their NHL debut.
Dec. 5 marked another important milestone for Hedman. He scored his first career goal in a 4-0 victory over the New York Islanders. One can only imagine if the 13,577 fans in attendance at what was then known as the St. Pete Times forum knew that they were witnessing history. Much of the rest of the season was far less historic for the Lightning.
Hedman finished the season with four goals and 16 assists while logging an average of almost 21 minutes of ice time per game, which was good for ninth in Calder Trophy voting. The year did not end with a playoff bid, but it left fans hopeful for the future. The team had improved from 66 points to 80 points on the year. They had a young center who had just put up over 50 goals, and it seemed that they might have top talent on the defensive end too.
Hedman’s Learning Curve
Hedman proved to be a great asset to the team immediately, but like most young players, it did take him a few years to really find his footing. Over the next few seasons, he put up similar but steadily improving numbers. The way he played did not win him any awards or put him on any all-star teams, but it was quiet progress that was bringing him and his team closer to being contenders.
In the 2010–11 season, Hedman built on his rookie success with a solid 26-point campaign and a slight increase in his time on ice. He also saw his first playoff action as the Lightning made a run to the Eastern Conference Final, where they pushed the Boston Bruins to the brink but ultimately came up short in Game 7. During that postseason, Hedman was on the ice for over 22 minutes a game and recorded six assists.
The 2011–12 season saw the Lightning slip down the rankings, and Hedman saw a slight dip in point production. He was developing into a more well-rounded player, though. The then-21-year-old defenseman increased his career high on hits from 57 to 97 and his blocked shots from 95 to 127. He also reached the 23-minute mark for his time on ice for the first time and scored five goals for the first time in his career. The results were not all there yet, but it was possible to see that he was becoming a reliable defenseman.
In the 2012–13 season, it was a similar story. The lockout-shortened season did not hinder Hedman’s steady march toward his potential. He put up .45 points per game, which was a career-high at the time. Once again, he had played more than almost anyone else and was second on the time with his time on ice. He had a respectable 84 blocked shots and 56 hits over the 44-game campaign. The same cannot be said for the rest of the team, as the Lightning did not fare particularly well and missed the playoffs for the second straight season.
There were a couple of important things that happened toward the end of the season, though. The Lightning traded for a journeyman goalie named Ben Bishop and promoted their AHL coach, Jon Cooper, to be the new head coach of the Lightning. Both of those moves made by general manager Steve Yzerman would prove to be quite wise in the years ahead.
Hedman’s Breakout Season
The Lightning were a different team in the 2013–14 season, and Hedman had a breakout season of his own. He had never scored more than five goals in a given season before and had never recorded more than 26 points. In the 2013–14 season, he scored 13 times and had 42 assists for a total of 55 points. That was more than double his previous career high. His shooting percentage was 7.6 percent, which was a career-high, and he was finally getting some real action on the power play. Of course, he did all of this while still playing solid defense. Hedman finished ninth in Norris Trophy voting, his first time receiving votes for the award.
His effort helped propel the team to second place in the newly formed Atlantic Division and earned them a spot in the playoffs, where they faced the Montreal Canadiens. Bishop, who had a great year of his own, was unavailable due to injury, and the team did not have a reliable backup goalie. The end result was an early exit without a single playoff win, but the team finally looked like they had the makings of a contender, and Hedman’s breakout season created optimism that the team had a much higher ceiling.
Business as Usual
Hedman never looked back after that 2013–14 season. He was the guy to lead the Lightning’s defense, and at 23 years old, he was still getting better. Now that he had established himself as an elite defenseman and part of the Lightning’s core, he aimed even higher and strove to become the best defenseman in the league. Over the next three seasons, he put up a total of 157 points. The 2014–15 season was a solid campaign for Hedman, in which he put up 38 points in 59 games. But where he really shined was in the playoffs.
After the less-than-ceremonious end to the previous season, the Lightning were back with a vengeance. The first round had the Lightning face off against a veteran Detroit Red Wings team, and after trading wins back and forth, the Lightning found themselves down 3-2 in the series. They were fortunately able to power their way through and win two straight to advance on the back of a 2-0 Bishop shutout in Game 7.
Hedman did his part with three assists and plenty of blocks and hits to keep the Red Wings at bay. He ended up having a bit more of a spotlight against Montreal in the next round. In Game 1, he was on the ice for a whopping 30 minutes, and in Game 2, he had a goal and an assist. Those performances helped power Tampa to a 2-0 lead, and they held on to win the series 4-2.
In the Eastern Conference Final, Hedman had several games with an abnormally high amount of ice time and one outing where he had two assists. The game was a 6-5 overtime thriller in which the Lightning came out on top. It took the Lightning seven games to dispatch the New York Rangers, so Hedman’s play was especially important. In the Stanley Cup Final, the Lightning fell to the Chicago Blackhawks in six games. They played well, but not well enough. Hedman had two games in which he recorded two assists, and like the team, there was a sense that he still had more to climb.
The 2015-16 season was another 10-goal campaign for Hedman, which brought him to three total in his career. He had his second-highest total for assists with 37 and finished the year with 47 points. He recorded a career-high number of blocked shots with 132 and tied his career-high for takeaways with 48. In the playoffs, he tied his previous season’s tally of 14 points but did it in 17 games as opposed to 26. He also had his first multi-goal playoff game in a victory over the New York Islanders. Hedman had four goals in that series, which really showed off his offensive abilities.
The team fell short of their goal once again, as the Pittsburgh Penguins defeated them in the Eastern Conference Final in six games. The Lightning had been rolling until Bishop got hurt, and while a young goal by the name of Andrei Vasilevskiy performed admirably, it was not quite enough to send the Lightning to the Stanley Cup Final. Hedman received votes for the Norris Trophy again but placed seventh overall. It felt as if both Lightning and Hedman were on the precipice of something big; however, that final hurdle can be the most difficult one to clear.
The 2016–17 season was a step forward for Hedman and a step back for the Lightning. Marred by injuries and some inconsistent play, the Lightning missed the playoffs. Hedman, on the other hand, had another career year, and this one was really special. The Swedish defenseman nearly put up 20 goals with his tally of 16 and had an astonishing 56 assists.
There are not too many defensemen that have had a 72-point season in that era of the NHL. What is particularly staggering is that Hedman beat his career high in total points just with his assists. Not to mention, he tied his career high in blocked shots with 132, recorded 93 hits, which was just three away from his career high, and reached the 24-minute mark for ice time for the first time. Did it win him the Norris Trophy? It did not, but it did get him ever closer with a third-place finish, and he was named to the NHL Second All-Star team.
Hedman a Norris Trophy Winner
It only took Hedman one more season to collect his hardware. In the 2017-18 season, he finally won the Norris Trophy and was named to the NHL First All-Star team. Hedman tallied 17 goals for a career-high, and while +/- is not a stat to put a ton of stock in, he had a +32; he has not matched that since. His assists were down from the previous year, but he still had a very good total of 46. He was two takeaways short of tying his career-best of 48, and he demolished his previous career high for hits with 139. Hedman did all of this while playing for 25 minutes a night. Even if the point total was a little lower than the previous season, the team relied on him more than ever.
What finally got him that trophy was putting together an incredibly well-rounded performance in which his value to his team was undeniable. His playoff performance was not as dominant but was still respectable, with one goal and 10 assists. The Lightning fell short again in the Eastern Conference Final, this time at the hands of the Washington Capitals, and while Hedman had finally reached his potential, the rest of the team was still climbing onward.
Stanley Cup and Conn Smythe Winner
As great as Hedman’s career has been up to this point, it was the next few seasons after that Norris Trophy-winning season that cemented him as a future hall of famer and legend of the game. Winning back-to-back Stanley Cups is quite a resumé-builder. Of course, there was a season between winning the Norris Trophy and the Stanley Cup. It is one that many would like to forget, but arguably, it forced the Lightning to change and finally pushed them to become the team many knew they could be. The 2018-19 regular season was one of the most fun seasons to watch as a fan. The team was electric and had an offense that looked unstoppable.
Hedman continued to be one of the key cogs in the machine, as he casually had his sixth straight season with 10 or more goals for a total of 12. He also had 42 assists, which was good for 55 total points. Couple that with 97 blocked shots, 59 hits, and 32 takeaways, and the result is another NHL Second All-Star Team appearance, along with third place in Norris Trophy voting.
The Lightning ended up winning the Presidents’ Trophy and promptly got swept by the Columbus Blue Jackets. Hedman would not get his Stanley Cup just yet, and it was quite the humiliation. This loss made the Lightning take a look in the mirror. They made some roster changes and altered their mentality. Regular-season success no longer held the same weight. The team was built to win in the spring and had renewed vigor.
Hedman had a similar regular season in 2019–20. He had 11 goals and 55 total points, which extended his streak of 10-goal seasons to seven. Along with the one-point increase from the previous season, he had increased ice time and more hits, blocks, and takeaways. That was good for another third-place finish in Norris Trophy voting and another selection to the NHL Second All-Star Team. The regular season alone made this a very memorable season for the defenseman, but it was the postseason that made it one that he’ll never forget.
During the Lightning’s run to their second-ever Stanley Cup, Hedman scored 10 goals. That is six more than he has scored in any other postseason to date. His point total was also a career-high for the playoffs with 22, and his defensive stats were stellar. He was everywhere.
In the first round against the Blue Jackets, he had one goal and two assists, but it was the series against the Bruins in the second round where he turned it on. He scored four goals against the Bruins and had two assists to go along with them. The first two goals came in a Game 1 loss, but the next two came under better circumstances. He scored to give the Lightning a 3-0 victory in Game 4 of the series and then again in overtime of Game 5 to send the Lightning to the Eastern Conference Final.
Hedman ended up carrying his goal-scoring streak into the next round with goals in Game 1 and 2 against the Islanders, which were both Lightning wins, and he combined for five points over those two games. After a short scoring drought of two games, Hedman scored the Lightning’s lone goal in a 2-1 double overtime loss in Game 5. In Game 6, he once again scored the Lightning’s only regulation goal, but this time, Anthony Cirelli came up clutch in overtime and sent the Lightning to the Stanley Cup Final. During the final, Hedman had one goal and six assists, with the Lightning taking out the Dallas Stars in five games. Hedman was finally a champion and a recipient of the Conn Smythe Trophy. The Lightning and Hedman had reached the top of the mountain.
Related: Martin St. Louis, the Little Big Man
The very next season, they did it again. Hedman’s streak of 10-goal seasons came to an end as he put the puck in the net nine times, but with 45 points and over 25 minutes of ice time per game, it was still another great season. It was his third year in a row of coming in third in Norris Trophy voting and his third year in a row of being voted to the NHL Second All-Star team. That kind of consistency is extremely rare and worth mentioning. He did not reach the same heights as the previous postseason, but two goals and 16 assists are still fantastic stats for a defenseman. Hedman did come up clutch, with both of his goals coming in the later rounds, and he was a Stanley Cup champion for the second year in a row after the Lightning defeated the Canadiens in five games.
Hedman Still Going Strong
In the time since those back-to-back titles, Hedman has continued to play some great hockey for the Lightning. In the 2021–22 season, he played 82 games for the first time and had a career-high in points with 20 goals and 85 assists. Once again, he was third in Norris Trophy voting and a member of the NHL Second All-Star Team. That same season saw him become an Eastern Conference champion again, and although the Lightning lost in the Stanley Cup Final to the Colorado Avalanche, making it to the Final three years in a row is a testament to how good Hedman and this core have been.
Last year, Hedman racked up 49 points, and so far this season, he has 27. Even as he gets older, he’s still playing big minutes, scoring, and playing an important role in the defensive zone. He’s had plenty of other great moments, such as playing in four All-Star games (including one in Tampa), playing in an outdoor game in the Stadium Series, and participating in the Global Series in his home country, Sweden (where he scored a goal). Hedman is a special kind of player who does not come along very often. One thousand games played is not his last accomplishment; it’s just the latest one. It will be exciting to see what Hedman does next.
