Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman and captain Victor Hedman is taking a temporary leave of absence, the team announced on Wednesday [https://x.com/TBLightning/status/2036884813613809904?s=20]. Hedman's absence is for personal reasons. "No further details will be shared, and the team asks that his privacy be respected at this time," the Lightning said. Hedman, 35, has been limited to 33 games this season due to injuries. Following a contest on Nov. 8 against the Washington Capitals [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/washington-capitals], he missed about a month with an undisclosed injury [https://www.nhl.com/news/nhl-status-report-news-and-notes-november-20-2025]. Not long after his return in December, he was sidelined again. Eventually, he received a procedure for his elbow [https://www.nhl.com/news/victor-hedman-injury-status-update-december-12-2025], was placed on injured reserve on Dec. 11 and returned to play on Feb. 1. During the Olympics, Hedman sat out of the quarterfinal against Team USA [https://www.nhl.com/news/olympics-team-sweden-victor-hedman-injury-status-update-february-18-2026] after sustaining a lower-body injury in warmup. More recently, before the news of his leave of absence, Hedman had been dealing with an illness, which forced him to exit Tampa Bay's game against the Vancouver Canucks [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/vancouver-canucks] on March 19. He played 4:44 of ice time in that contest and hasn't made an appearance for the Bolts since. In total, the veteran blueliner has one goal and 17 points. This is Hedman's 17th season in the NHL. Across the way, the Conn Smythe Trophy winner and two-time Stanley Cup champion has made 1,164 regular-season appearances and recorded a total of 172 goals and 811 points. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Image [https://deweb-519a7.b-cdn.net/post-images/8127be64-29a5-4c3a-8ebc-51fffbeb115e.jpeg] For action-packed issues, access to the entire magazine archive and a free issue, subscribe to The Hockey News at THN.com/free [https://thehockeynews.store/products/print-subscription?_gl=1*bxdaft*_ga*NDAxOTY4NTMuMTc1NTg5NTA0Mg..*_ga_ZET34ZFCGX*czE3NzMwMDIwMjkkbzE3OSRnMSR0MTc3MzAwMzQ5NSRqMzIkbDAkaDA.]. Get the latest news and trending stories by subscribing to our newsletter here [http://eepurl.com/i7OC4I]. And share your thoughts by commenting below the article on THN.com or creating your own post in our community forum.
