Last week, the NHL Network released its top 20 wingers list, and now it's time for the defenseman and featuring in the rankings was Tampa Bay Lightning captain Victor Hedman.
Hedman landed in the top five, coming in at No.5. The 34-year-old has now had consecutive rebound seasons after a difficult 2022-23 season. His offense is back, scoring 15 goals and 66 points in 79 games, and his two-way game remains elite.
The Swedish defenseman has been featured on these rankings for quite some time now, as Hedman has been the catalyst of the Lightning's defense since he stepped into the NHL. Tampa Bay have been among the NHL's best teams for over a decade now, and Hedman is a big reason why.
Hedman is a winner of the Norris Trophy, taking home those honors once in his career. He's also a five-time finalist and finished fifth in Norris Trophy voting this past season.
"In his first season as captain, Hedman had 66 points (15 goals, 51 assists) and 26 power-play points in 79 games. His 23:05 of ice time per game led the team and his 133 blocked shots were second. Hedman, 34, won the Norris Trophy in 2017-18 and was a finalist six straight seasons from 2016-22. During that stretch, he was named to the NHL First All-Star team once and the Second All-Star team five times. He is the Lightning's all-time leader among defensemen in games (1,131), goals (171), assists (623) and points (794), and was named the Conn Smythe Trophy winner as playoff MVP in 2020 when he helped them win the Stanley Cup for the first of two straight seasons," said the NHL Network.
Ranking ahead of Hedman were Colorado Avalanche's Cale Makar, Vancouver Canucks' Quinn Hughes, Columbus Blue Jackets' Zach Werenski and Dallas Stars' Miro Heiskanen.
Former Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Mikhail Sergachev featured on the list, landing at the No.17 spot. The 27-year-old had a tremendous first season with the Utah Mammoth, scoring a career-high 15 goals and adding 53 points in 77 games. He also played heavy minutes, averaging 25:07 of ice time.
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