TAMPA BAY – Vice President and General Manager Julien Brisbois announced today that the Tampa Bay Lightning has signed defenseman Victor Hedman to a four-year contract extension worth an average annual value of $8 million. The contract extension will begin with the 2025-26 season and run through 2028-29.
The 33-year-old Hedman has recorded 63 assists and 76 points in 2023-24 along with 31 power-play points and a team-high plus-18 rating. He ranks fourth among all NHL defensemen in assists, fifth in points, sixth in power-play points and eighth in average time on ice (24:48). Hedman leads all Lightning skaters in average time on ice while ranking second in assists and fourth in points and power-play points.
The Örnsköldsvik, Sweden native appeared in all five of Tampa Bay’s Stanley Cup playoff games in 2024 as the Lightning fell to the eventual Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers in the Eastern Conference quarterfinals. Hedman led all Bolts skaters in average time on ice (25:45) while his seven points tied for the team lead and his six assists were second.
Hedman, 33, has played in 1,052 career NHL games, all with Tampa Bay, scoring 156 goals, 728 points and 259 power play points with a plus-175 rating. Since making his NHL debut in 2009, Hedman ranks third among all active defensemen with 728 points and a plus-175 rating, while his 259 power play points rank fourth and his 1,052 games rank fifth.
As one of only 11 defensemen in NHL history to win the Conn Smythe Trophy as the most valuable player in the Stanley Cup playoffs, Hedman has recorded 117 points in the postseason with 23 goals and 94 assists, all of which are the most among active defensemen, while his 165 career playoff games are good for second behind Ryan McDonagh (191 games). Among all defensemen in NHL playoff history, Hedman ranks 10th in assists and tied for 12th in points.
The four-time NHL All-Star remains the only player in Lightning history to be awarded the James Norris Memorial Trophy as the defenseman who demonstrated the greatest all-around ability at the position throughout the regular season. He is only the third player to skate in 1,000 games with the club, and Hedman holds nearly every team record among defensemen, including games played, goals, assists (572), points, plus/minus, even-strength goals (124), even-strength points (455), power-play points, minus points (14), overtime goals (8), game-winning goals (28), shots (1,132) and blocked shots (1,613). Hedman has also logged 24,683:30 of career ice time, the most of any skater in Tampa Bay history.
Hedman was selected by the Lightning in the first round and second overall of the 2009 NHL Draft.
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