TAMPA BAY – The Tampa Bay Lightning have signed defenseman Victor Hedman to a four-year contract extension worth an average annual value of $8 million, vice president and general manager Julien BriseBois announced today. The contract extension will begin with the 2025-26 season and run through the 2028-29 season.
Hedman, 33, recorded 63 assists and 76 points in 2023-24 along with 31 power-play points and a team-high plus-18 rating. He ranked fourth among all NHL defencemen in assists, fifth in points, sixth in power-play points and eighth in average time on ice (24:48). Hedman led all Lightning skaters in average time on ice while ranking second in assists and fourth in points and power-play points.
The Ornskoldsvik, Sweden, native appeared in all five games of Tampa Bay’s 2024 Stanley Cup playoffs 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 ranked second.
Hedman, 33, has appeared in 1,052 career NHL games, all with Tampa Bay, where he has recorded 156 goals, 728 points and 259 power play points with a 175+ rating. Since making his NHL debut in 2009, Hedman’s 728 points and 175+ rating rank third among all active defensemen, while his 259 power play points are fourth-most and his 1,052 games played rank fifth.
As one of 11 defencemen in NHL history to win the Conn Smythe Trophy as the Stanley Cup Playoffs’ Most Valuable Player, Hedman has recorded 117 postseason points on 23 goals and 94 assists, all of which are the most among active defencemen, while his 165 career playoff games rank second behind Ryan McDonagh (191 GP). Among all defencemen in NHL playoff history, Hedman ranks 10th in assists and is tied for 12th in points.
The four-time NHL All-Star remains the only player in Lightning franchise history to capture the James Norris Memorial Trophy as the defenseman demonstrating the most all-around ability at the position during the regular season. The third player to skate in 1,000 career games with the club, Hedman owns nearly every franchise record among defensemen including games played, goals, assists (572), points, plus/minus, deadlocked goals (124), deadlocked points (455), power play points, shorthanded points (14), overtime goals (8), game-winning goals (28), hits (1,132) and blocked shots (1,613). Hedman has also logged 24,683:30 of career ice time, the most among all skaters in Tampa Bay franchise history.
Hedman was selected by the Lightning in the first round, second overall, of the 2009 NHL Draft.