Victor Hedman is heading into a new season with a much clearer mind, and the Tampa Bay Lightning captain says the reason he stepped away last year had nothing to do with a physical injury.
Instead, Hedman said he was dealing with performance anxiety that grew heavier as the season wore on. He said the pressure was there before puck drop, starting with the way he felt on game days and carrying over into how he handled mistakes on the ice.
“It kind of locks you up. You make a mistake and in the past you’d be able to shake it off, but I couldn’t do that. And I wasn’t feeling 100 percent physically.”
For a player with Hedman’s résumé - a Norris Trophy winner and one of the NHL’s most respected defensemen - that admission lands with real force. He has anchored Tampa Bay’s blue line for more than a decade, so hearing him describe a point where the mental side of the game became too much underscores how sharply the strain hit.
The encouraging part, by Hedman’s own account, is that he’s in a far better place now. He said he’s feeling great and credited the support around him for helping him through it. He also said he has no regrets about stepping away and hopes his experience sends a message that “it is okay to not be okay.”
Hedman hasn’t played since March 19, so the adjustment back into game action could take a little time. The 35-year-old acknowledged as much, saying that even though he’s been on the ice and in the gym and feels good physically, the timing of the game itself will take some getting used to again.
“You’re on the ice every day, you’re in the gym and you feel good, and that makes, obviously, the mental part easier too when you feel you can perform in your job to the fullest extent. I’m sure it’s going to take me a few games to get back into the rhythm of playing in the League since I haven’t played in a long time, but I’m super fresh, hungry and super motivated to go out there and play my best hockey.”
In Other News...
Lightning National TV Slate Puts Big Rivalries Front And Center
The Lightnings 2026-27 schedule will once again put a spotlight on the leagues biggest stages, with 14 national TV games spread across TNT, ESPN, ABC and ESPN+/Disney+/Hulu. For a team that consistently draws attention, the slate is built around the kinds of matchups that tend to define a season, with familiar Eastern Conference opponents and plenty of late-season relevance baked in.
Boston and Florida sit near the center of that spotlight, and the broadcast calendar also includes a rematch with Montreal, giving Tampa Bay no shortage of high-profile dates before the full grind of the schedule settles in. The rest of the games will land locally on The Spot Tampa Bay 66 and through the Lightning app, so fans still have a clear path to follow the team whether they are tuning in nationally or watching closer to home. [Read more 🡒]
Lightning Fans Should Keep An Eye On This Under-The-Radar Forward
Marco Mignosa is the kind of late-round pickup that can get overlooked on a busy draft weekend, but Tampa Bay has at least given itself a player worth tracking. The forward was selected in the seventh round of the 2025 NHL Draft after building a strong junior rsum in the OHL, where his playmaking instincts and scoring touch stood out enough to put him on the Lightnings radar.
His next step is expected to come at Penn State in the 2026-27 season, where the focus will shift from production to refinement. Mignosa will be aiming to sharpen his defensive game while adding strength and speed, and if that transition goes well, he could put himself in position to sign an entry-level contract after a season in the NCAA. [Read more 🡒]