Historic Heddy: Bolts captain sets another franchise mark with 17th NHL season

Victor Hedman’s name is already cemented in Tampa Bay Lightning history.

Just last season, we saw him become the 11th captain in team history. And he continues to pave the all-time mark for most career games in a Bolts sweater after breaking the record with No. 1,083 on Dec. 28.

He even held the Lightning career assists record during the 2024-25 season after passing Martin St. Louis at 588, but Nikita Kucherov went on to overtake that mark before the season concluded.

Even following a historic season for the big Swede, Hedman has claimed another Lightning mark—2025-26 marks Hedman’s 17th NHL season, all with the Bolts. The mark passes former teammate Steven Stamkos to become the longest tenured player in franchise history.

“I’m getting old,” the captain joked this week when asked for his thoughts on season 17. “It means the world. The franchise, the city, everything means so much. It’s obviously rare in sports that you get to stay with the same team for that long, but I’m super proud and excited to get started once again.”

The 34-year-old defenseman was Tampa Bay’s pick with the second overall selection at the 2009 NHL Draft and has been with the team since he was 18 years old. Two Stanley Cups, a Conn Smythe Trophy, a James Norris Memorial Trophy as the league’s top defenseman and 17 seasons later, he remains a Bolt.

Lightning forward Anthony Cirelli said Hedman “does it all” for the Lightning, calling the defenseman’s skillset “world class” combined with a nearly unstoppable 6-foot-7 frame.

“He’s what it means to be the Tampa Bay Lightning, from his leadership to what he does in the community to what he does on the ice and doing whatever it takes for the team,” Cirelli said. “He's a guy that I looked up to when I was younger, and seeing him come down here and win trophies and Conn Smythes and Stanley Cups, he's done it all.”

"He’s a good buddy of mine too now, so I’m just happy for him. And he keeps going. It doesn’t look like he’s stopping anytime soon.”

Entering Saturday’s game against the New Jersey Devils, Hedman’s NHL resume held 171 goals and 625 assists for 796 points across 1,132 games.

He is only four points shy of becoming the 20th defenseman in NHL history to score 800. He is 20 assists away from tying Hockey Hall of Famer Bobby Orr (645) for 15th all-time in career assists among NHL defensemen.

Lightning coach Jon Cooper has seen 14 of Hedman’s seasons firsthand.

“To have that kind of longevity, especially in this league, in this sport, and to keep playing at such an elite level, it’s impressive. Impact players in this organization, this city,” Cooper said of Hedman and his fellow defenseman Ryan McDonagh’s long NHL careers this week. “Just love those guys.”

And it should come as no surprise that Cooper isn’t Hedman’s only fan within the Lightning locker room.

‘He’s kind of been the man’

For Lightning defenseman JJ Moser, the words “class act” come to mind whenever someone mentions Hedman.

“It's obviously been amazing to play with him because he is such a complete player. He can play in every situation and excel in every situation. And then the other thing is off the ice how he carries himself, how he talks to people, how much respect he gives every single person that he's in contact with…He just carries himself with so much class and is such a great person to be around.”

Moser has been paired with Hedman at times after joining the Lightning via trade with Utah last summer, and the 24-year-old is constantly asking questions.

“I hope he’s not too annoyed yet,” Moser said with a smile. “But I guess that’s the price you have to pay if you’re great. But no, I just try to ask him as much as I can. And a lot of it also is just watching him because you can talk about it as much as you want, but if you see how he does it, it helps a great deal as well to see the way he moves and understand how he sees and thinks the game.”

Moser mentioned hockey’s oft-used phrase 'two-way defenseman', saying he thinks Hedman might be the best example of just that. He shuts down plays in his own end but is a weapon on offense, all while logging heavy minutes in every situation for one of the league’s top teams.

“I think it's way harder to look great at both sides of the puck than people give credit for,” Moser said. “His passing is outstanding, that’s more known, and his shot–it’s just a bomb–but how easy he makes it look to be reliable on defense and create a lot of offense is the most underrated part, in my opinion.”

Seventeen seasons is impressive, especially to 21-year-old forward Conor Geekie, who just began his second NHL season in Tampa Bay.

"I've been a fan of his for a long, long time. He's a true, true Hall of Famer,” Geekie said. “I think you ask anyone around the league, anyone who played in those 17 years, he's kind of been the man since he was 18.”

Geekie admitted he was nervous the first time Hedman introduced himself to the youngster. The captain, as he usually does, made that go away pretty quickly.

“I played as these guys in video games growing up. I've always been a big fan of the Lightning and St. Louis, Hedman, (Vincent) Lecavalier. They were all my guys growing up that I really liked watching,” he said.

Hedman in particular still is.

“When you see them in person, it's a little different, but it goes for a lot of guys on the team, right? I think like everyone in here, I looked up to them growing up and watched them, kind of knew how they taped their stick and whatnot. But Vic is, he's a special person,” Geekie continued. "I’m grateful to be able to be around him for the coming years, hopefully.”