It was a question of when, not if, the Tampa Bay Lightning would name Victor Hedman the next captain of the team. With a contract extension in his back pocket, two Stanley Cups on his mantle, and over 1,000 games of experience, Hedman was the ideal choice to follow his good friend Steven Stamkos as the next leader of the Lightning. The organization confirmed it on Wednesday, the first day of training camp as they announced him as the 11th captain in franchise history. Along with Hedman wearing the “C”, Nikita Kucherov and Ryan McDonagh will be completing the leadership team as alternate captains.
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With the announcement, Victor Hedman becomes the tallest center in franchise history (Chris Gratton, Dave Andreychuk, and Vinny Lecavalier are all tied for second now at 6’4″) and the first defenseman to wear the “C” since Bill Houlder, who wore if for 14 games in the 1999-00 season.
Hedman has been a member of the Tampa Bay Lightning since the moment he was drafted with the number two overall pick in 2009. Outside of a stint in the KHL during the 2012-13 lockout, the only other team’s jersey he has worn since being drafted is for Sweden when he’s played on their international team. When he is done with the Lightning, he will likely be done playing NHL hockey. His number will be retired and there will be no question as to the team he represents in the Hockey Hall of Fame.
There was some question on if the Lightning would wait until their home opener to reveal the captain, but getting it out of the way early in training camp, eliminates any distracting questions about it. There wasn’t much doubt that Hedman was going to be the captain, even Julien BriseBois stated it was “obvious” that the Big Swede should be captain. He has the respect in the locker room and on the ice. Plus it will be fun to see him tower over the referees when they have a discussion on the ice about a call.
Mr. BriseBois detailed the process of making the choice. Despite feeling that Hedman had all of the qualities needed to be captain, he still had Jon Cooper ask for the players opinion. Why? In the GM’s opinion he wanted to set the next captain up for success, and a vote of confidence from the players would do that. The new captain would also have an added boost of pride knowing that his teammates recognize the role he would play. The vote from the players wasn’t just overwhelmingly in favor of Hedman, it was unanimous according to Mr. BriseBois.
For his part, Hedman understands what the captaincy means, but that doesn’t mean it’s going to change the way he goes about his play,
“To get that “C” on your jersey is a big privilege and a big responsibility obviously. I’ve learned from a lot of great leaders. It was my good friend Stammer that’s been my captain for the last ten-to-eleven years. I’m not going to change the way I am, the way I approach my game.”
Hedman has been the constant on the defense for 15 seasons and a mentor for the current generation of blue liners like Nick Perbix, Darren Raddysh, and Erik Cernak. He has the trust of his teammates and his voice will carry a lot of weight in the locker room. As the Lightning transition to their next generation of players, it won’t be just his words but his actions that dictate his role as captain. He will lead by example. While he may look cool and stoic on the ice, there is no one more competitive than the big defenseman. He puts the work in off the ice so that he can be prepared for anything that happens on it. He’s played through injuries (torn meniscus) without complaint or that much of a drop off in his play.
Congratulations to Victor Hedman on becoming the 11th captain in Tampa Bay Lightning franchise history.
