At nearly 31 years old, and with two Stanley Cups and a Conn Smythe to his name, Victor Hedman’s story has already been written to a Hall of Fame-like extent. Even so, the Swedish giant doesn’t look any less hungry than he has in the past. For a Tampa Bay Lightning team that has had to adjust to life without two of the NHL’s leading offensive superstars this season, that kind of drive and determination from Number-77 has been a real difference-maker.
Coming off a weekend that saw him compile four points in two games, Hedman now sits comfortably atop the league’s leaderboard in blueline scoring with 26 points through 24 contests this year. It marks a return to glory for Hedman, who faced injuries last year that put a damper on his play. While not necessarily reflected in his counting stats last season, Hedman’s injury woes made their existence known to anyone who was watching the Bolts regularly. The Hedman that could take over a game with his skating stride? Nowhere to be found. The Hedman that other teams were reluctant to challenge on zone entry? Not there. It all culminated with an offseason knee surgery.
To say he’s returned from that knee surgery with a vengeance would be to understate things in a significant way. Victor Hedman is back. Beyond the goals and assists referenced above, Hedman is back to his old ways of dominating the game whenever he takes to the ice. That’s been a major plus for a Lightning team that has been fighting other injury bugs all year. With both Brayden Point and Nikita Kucherov out of the lineup with long-term ailments, the Bolts have needed other players to step up. Hedman has risen to the challenge and then some, authoring that return to glory without the added help of multiple superstars who can do a lot of the work for him. He’s doing the heavy lifting himself.
There has been no better example of that than this past Thursday’s game against the St. Louis Blues. With the game knotted at one heading into the third period, Hedman decided that the game was going to be his. He was dominant in the third period on every shift, and ended up notching three points in the frame to lead the Lightning to a victory. It was the kind of performance that very few defenders in the NHL can deliver, but Hedman made it look easy.
Even as the hockey community begins to divert attention to newer, shinier toys in the defenceman market, such as Colorado’s Cale Makar or New York’s Adam Fox, Victor Hedman is proving that there’s still plenty of room in this league for veteran defenders with the right tools, toolbox, and determination to succeed. There have been many stories written about torch passing on the blue line in recent years, but it doesn’t look like Hedman is ready to extinguish his own flame quite yet. For a player who has accomplished all that he’s accomplished in the last two years, that speaks incredibly highly of his character and leadership abilities. In case you didn’t know it already, the Lightning are beyond lucky to have him.
As always, thanks for reading.
Tampa Bay Lightning Blogger • 
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