What makes a great athlete a legendary one?
Championships? Consistency? Individual accolades?
Whatever the requirement may be, Victor Hedman checks each and every box.
When the Tampa Bay Lightning drafted Hedman with the second overall pick in 2009, the big, 18-year-old defenseman from Örnsköldsvik, Sweden, made his way to the Sunshine State with the weight of extraordinary expectations on his shoulders.
With hockey fans around the world watching the NHL Draft that Friday night in June, TSN scouts labeled Hedman as the player who was “most ready to step in and play in the National Hockey League,” and “the best Swedish defenseman since Nicklas Lidstrom.”
Stories were told of elite players like Peter Forsberg saying Hedman was almost impossible to beat while the two practiced together for a year and a half.
No pressure, right?
Expectations were sky high for the young defenseman. Looking back 1,000 games later, Hedman has not only met all those expectations – he’s exceeded them.
Going into his milestone game Monday night, Hedman has logged over 27,000 career minutes of ice time for the Lightning, over 5,000 more minutes than the next-closest skater. He’s set to become the first defenseman and third player in Bolts history to hit the 1,000-game milestone, joining a small club with Vinny Lecavalier (1,037 GP) and Steven Stamkos (1,026 GP) being the only other members.
There’s no argument. Hedman is the greatest defenseman to ever wear a Tampa Bay sweater. On the franchise’s all-time leaderboard for D-men, Hedman ranks first in games played, goals (148), assists (529), points (677), plus/minus (+155), even-strength goals (118), even-strength points (426), power-play points (237), overtime goals (8), game-winning goals (27), shots (2,120), hits (1,077) and blocked shots (1,538).
An alternate captain each of the past six seasons, Hedman played an indispensable role in helping the Lightning win the Stanley Cup in back-to-back years, taking home the Conn Smythe Trophy as the most valuable player of the playoffs in 2020.
Hedman’s trophy case also boasts the James Norris Memorial Trophy he was awarded in 2018 as the NHL’s top defenseman. Over the past seven seasons, he’s been a finalist for the award six times. And over those seven seasons, not a single defenseman in the NHL has recorded more points than Hedman.
Set to celebrate his 33rd birthday later this month, Hedman hasn’t shown any signs of slowing down. After a longer than usual summer filled with some much-needed rest, Hedman returned to Tampa for the 2023-24 season motivated and energized. As a result, he’s averaging a point per game with 25 points through 25 games, scoring five goals and adding 20 helpers.
Among all NHL defensemen, he’s currently tied for third in points and sixth in goals, while ranking fourth overall in assists. Yet to miss a game this season, Hedman leads all Lightning skaters in time on ice per game, averaging 23:56 of ice time per contest.
When the Bolts drafted Hedman in 2009, the team was coming off the seventh-worst season in franchise history. During a number of home games in his first year, pockets of empty seats were visible throughout the building. The state of hockey in Tampa was in an entirely different place.
Today, the Lightning have sold out over 300 consecutive home games. You can’t go anywhere in town without seeing something relating to the Bolts, whether it’s a fan in a t-shirt, a license plate or banners all around the city.
There are several reasons for Tampa Bay’s rise to prominence, a big one being Jeff Vinik buying the team in 2010. But make no mistake about it, the play of Hedman has played an instrumental role in making the Lightning one of the most relevant franchises in professional sports.
On the ice, Hedman has accomplished more than most defensemen around the NHL ever will. And off the ice, he’s been just as impressive. Whether it’s his work with the Humane Society of Tampa Bay or his visits to local hospitals and cancer centers, Hedman has used his platform for the better throughout his entire career with the Lightning.
How many 6-foot-7 defensemen in NHL history have had the ability to skate through all three zones and contribute in every area of the game the way Hedman has? Power play, penalty kill, 5-on-5.
He’s a unicorn player. The Bolts have had the luxury of sending a first ballot Hall of Famer over the boards for 15 seasons. Every team in the NHL would love to have that.
And luckily for Lightning fans, he looks like he’s got plenty of hockey left in him. But before we get to the rest of his career, let’s take tonight to celebrate the pure excellence that Victor Hedman has brought to the Tampa Bay area for 1,000 NHL games.
From logging 26:27 time on ice in his first career NHL game to racking up 677 points along the way, it’s been a fun ride to Hedman’s 1,000th game. Without him, who knows if two of the three Stanley Cup banners would be hanging in the rafters of AMALIE Arena?
Thankfully, we’ll never know. But if there’s one thing we do know, it’s that he’ll be fully responsible for at least one more banner hanging from the rafters in Tampa. And that will come on the day that number 77 inevitably gets retired by the Lightning organization.
Congratulations to the best defenseman in Bolts history.
