Lightning captain Victor Hedman feels energized as he resumes his NHL career

NEW YORK (AP) — Victor Hedman is back playing hockey, and the Tampa Bay Lightning captain hopes the trying times he went through over the past 10 months will benefit him down the road.

Hedman on Thursday night played his first NHL game that counts since stepping away in March to address his mental health. The well-respected Swedish defenseman also missed time last season with an elbow injury and subsequent surgery.

“Last year was hopefully a blip on the radar,” Hedman said ahead of playing 17 minutes, 45 seconds at the New York Rangers in Tampa Bay’s season opener. “When you play 33 games, it was a tough year in that regard. At the same time, maybe a blessing, too. Feeling excited and energized.”

Hedman, who is less than three months away from turning 36, shed significant weight since the spring. He starts his 18th season in the league at 228 pounds, 18 lighter than he played his 17th at 244 — a conscious effort to get lighter as he ages.

“As you get older, the less mass you have to move around, the faster you feel,” Hedman said. “I don’t think I lost any power or strength in that regard. I’m still quite heavy for this league, so boxing out and winning battles is not going to be any different. But hopefully I feel as light as I am today and just get moving on my skates.”

Jon Cooper immediately noticed Hedman looking different — “He was ripped,” more than usual. Hedman, who debuted in 2009 after getting drafted with the No. 2 pick, is the only Lightning player who predates Cooper, the longest tenured coach in the NHL.

“He’s been playing this entire time. I just get to stand there,” Cooper said. “It’s impressive when you look at the type of athletes that are coming through our game in the last decade, and he’s been able to still excel with them. But I think when you get older, you really have to start looking after yourself and he did that this offseason.”

Cooper won the Jack Adams Award as coach of the year, winger Nikita Kucherov the Hart Trophy as MVP and Andrei Vasilevskiy the Vezina as the top goaltender. But Hedman is such an important piece on the blue line that Tampa Bay in his absence went 8-6-2 down the stretch and lost a hard-luck first-round series to Montreal in seven games despite outshooting the Canadiens by 196-156.

Hedman taking his usual place makes the rest of the defensive puzzle fit together correctly, and his presence itself is a morale boost in the locker room.

“Just to see him being himself, his outgoing self, his energetic self, it means a lot to this group,” teammate Ryan McDonagh said. “Certainly looking forward to him having a great year again.”

Hedman in his prime won the Norris Trophy as the best defenseman in 2017-18 and led the Lightning to back-to-back Stanley Cup runs in 2020 and ’21, including earning playoff MVP honors the first time. Back then, he was averaging upwards of 24 minutes a game.

The workload is smaller now, with J.J. Moser and Charle-Edouard D’Astous getting bigger roles. Signing fellow Cup champion John Carlson in free agency also takes pressure off Hedman, especially on the power play.

“When Heddy used to play all situations all the time, first over the boards, he’s not as much anymore,” Cooper said. “It doesn’t make him any less effective. But it does manage his minutes a little.”

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