Lightning’s Victor Hedman finding his legs as he nears milestone

TAMPA — It was over a dozen years ago, but time has not dimmed the memory. Nor has it taken away the smile it brings when Victor Hedman talks about his first NHL assist.

“I got a D-to-D pass from Mattias Ohlund, and then I was able to find Marty (St. Louis) backdoor,” the Lightning defenseman said with a big grin. “So, yeah, it was a special moment. Your first game in the NHL. You get a point to one of the greatest to ever wear this uniform. That was a very cool experience.”

Since that night in Atlanta on Oct. 3, 2009, when Hedman made his NHL debut, there have been a lot of cool experiences for the former first-round pick. He has been a four-time All-Star, he’s won the Norris and Conn Smythe trophies. He’s brought two Stanley Cups back to Tampa Bay and led the Lightning to three straight Cup finals over the last three seasons.

But so far this season, there have not been many highlights for Hedman. Saturday night could be a turning point for him. He is just two assists shy of becoming just the fifth active defenseman to record 500 assists. He is hoping to do it when the Lightning close out a tough three-game home stretch against the Kings before they go into the All-Star break.

“That’s an amazing accomplishment, especially for a young guy who still has so much time left in this league,” Lightning assistant coach Rob Zettler said. “Victor is just an amazing player who is great to coach, and when he’s skating (well), which he does when he is at his best, he drives us.”

The 32-year old defenseman admittedly has struggled this season to get his legs under him so he can drive this team as he has in the past.

According to the statistics, Hedman’s game has been off defensively this year. Of the expected goals against per 60 minutes in five-on-five situations over the previous 10 years, Hedman had a very strong 2.12. This season, that number has inflated to 3.1. His plus/minus rating, which had been no lower than 24 in four of the last five years, is at 13 right now.

Zettler, a former NHL defenseman who works with the Lightning’s defense corps, said Hedman is at his best when he is skating.

“He’s such a powerful skater, and when he commands the puck and uses his legs to not only play offense but to play defense as well, he’s dominant,” Zettler said. “That’s true, and he wasn’t necessarily doing that all the time at the beginning of the season.”

“So we’re just always talking to him to ‘Use your legs, use your legs, use your legs,’ and when he does that, you can see how dominant he is up there, and I think it’s starting to show up in the numbers as well. He’s been a plus player for the last two or three weeks.”

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In 2020-21, when Hedman had a plus-5 rating, he admitted he played through the season with an injury that required him to have surgery after the Lightning won the Stanley Cup.

Hedman said he feels fine physically right now. He thinks his slow start to this season is a side effect of all the success. He has played in 71 playoff games over the last three seasons.

“It’s gotten a lot better,” Hedman said. “It was a little tough at the beginning. It’s what happens. We’ve played a lot of hockey in the past three and a half, four years, and sometimes you are going to go through that stretch where you don’t play up to your standard, but I’ve started to feel better. And that’s a positive sign, because we’re heading towards the postseason and that’s the fun stuff.”

Hedman has also been affected by changes to the Lightning’s roster. Ryan McDonagh, who helped Hedman share the load as a defensive stopper, was traded to Nashville after last season’s run to the Cup final. Hedman’s long-time partner, Jan Rutta, headed to Pittsburgh as a free agent.

Hedman, however, seems to be regaining his legs and since the Christmas break has found a rhythm with Zach Bogosian.

“Sometimes you’re playing with different guys and it takes a little while to click, but I feel like we’re getting there,” Bogosian said. “I just noticed he’s driving the play from the back now. He’s skating the puck a lot. He’s kind of taking the initiative to getting the puck up the ice, and I think that’s when he’s at his best.

“Essentially I’m a safety net. I just let him go and try to do his thing because he’s obviously super, super elite at it.”

Editor’s note: An earlier version of this story had an incorrect statistic about Hedman’s ice time. That statistic has been removed.

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