Victor Hedman is away from the Tampa Bay Lightning on a temporary leave absence for personal reasons, the team announced Wednesday.
The 35-year-old defenseman and captain has missed Tampa Bay's past three games after leaving during the first period of a 6-2 win at the Vancouver Canucks on March 19 because of an illness. Hedman has been limited to 17 points (one goal, 16 games) in 33 games this season.
Hedman missed a total of 34 games over two stints because of an elbow injury that required surgery Dec. 15. He returned for the 2026 Navy Federal Credit Union NHL Stadium Series against the Boston Bruins at Raymond James Stadium on Feb. 1 and played 10:18 in a 6-5 shootout victory.
The Lightning (44-21-5) host the Seattle Kraken on Thursday (7 p.m. ET; The Spot, KHN/Prime, KONG, SNO, SNE). They're second in the Atlantic Division, two points behind the Buffalo Sabres with one game in hand.
Hedman played Tampa Bay's final three games before joining Team Sweden for the 2026 Winter but missed its 2-1 overtime loss to Team USA in the quarterfinals with a lower-body injury he sustained during warmups. He recovered in time for the Lightning to resume play Feb. 25 and skated in their first 12 games after the break before leaving against the Canucks.
The 2018 winner of the Norris Trophy voted as the best defenseman in the NHL, Hedman is first in Lightning history among defensemen in games (1,164), goals (172), assists (639) and points (811). He helped them win the Stanley Cup in 2020 and 2021 and won the Conn Smythe Trophy as most valuable player of the 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
