The Tampa Bay captain, who hasn't played since March 19, is not expected to return in time for this playoff series. But like Steven Stamkos in 2020, there is a benefit to having Hedman around the team.
MONTREAL - Victor Hedman was not considered a game-time decision to suit up in Game 3 against the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday. And he's not considered a game-time decision to play in Game 4 on Monday.
According to Tampa Bay Lightning coach Jon Cooper, the chances are extremely slim that we will even see Hedman at all in this series.
But that didn't stop the Lightning captain, who hasn't played since March 19, from hopping on a plane and joining his teammates in Montreal for their two-game road trip — mostly for the vibes.
"Heddy is an extremely respected, likeable human being," said Cooper. "Guys like having him around more than they don't, if you know what I mean. You want to have him around. He brings light to the room with everything going on and he's a wealth of wisdom. He helps these young D and hopefully he slowly progresses here and if we could advance hopefully we see him."
Typically, injured players don't hang around the team. It's considered bad mojo. But the Lightning discovered back in 2020, when Steven Stamkos was recovering from core muscle surgery while isolated with the team in the bubble, that there is a benefit to keeping their leaders around.
"It's awesome. He's our captain for a reason," said left winger Gage Gonsalves. "We're with Vic and we love having him here. I've seen him at the hotel just picking his brain or even just talking to him about what he's been up to and how's the family at home. It's been nice to spend a lot of quality time around the captain."
"It's amazing," added defenseman Erik Cernak. "Obviously, he's been around us the whole time. He's our captain, our leader … I'm happy here's here with us."
This has been a difficult season for Hedman, who missed a total of 49 games over two stints because of an elbow injury that required surgery Dec. 15. He returned on Feb. 1 and represented Sweden at the Olympics, but then took a leave of absence for personal reasons midway through last month.
Having him around is a promising sign for a Lightning team that could definitely use him in these playoffs. But even if he isn't able to play, just his presence can provide a boost.
Victor Hedman and Andrei Vasilevskiy (Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images)"I think ultimate goal in the end is to have him play," said Cooper. "Stammer didn't play until Game 3 of the final, but in saying that are there similarities on the other side of the coin? Yes.
"Stammer was a huge part of our team. He was our captain, he'd been our leader for a long time," said Cooper. "Just to have that — even thought that contribution on the ice that both Stamkos and Hedman wanted to be — they provided it in so many areas, especially because we were stuck in a hotel the whole time."
As Cooper mentioned, Stamkos was eventually able to return to the lineup briefly for Game 3 in the Stanley Cup final, where he scored a goal. And though he managed to only play five shifts in total, as Cooper told reporters back in 2020, they were "probably an efficient five shifts as you're ever going to see in a National Hockey League playoff game."
Who knows, maybe Hedman, who skated with the team earlier this week, will end up having a similar impact.
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