Star defenseman Victor Hedman breaks silence on absence from Lightning

Yahoo Sports3h ago10 min readOriginal source →

TL;DR

Victor Hedman, captain of the Tampa Bay Lightning, has revealed he took a leave of absence to focus on his mental health. He missed the end of the NHL regular season and playoffs due to personal reasons.

Key points

Victor Hedman is the captain of the Tampa Bay Lightning.
He took a leave of absence for mental health reasons.
Hedman was placed on long-term injured reserve.
The Lightning lost in the first round of the playoffs.

Tampa Bay LightningVictor HedmanNHL

Tampa Bay Lightning captain Victor Hedman has revealed what kept him off the ice for the last part of the NHL regular season and the playoffs, acknowledging in a statement released by the team that he "made a decision to step away and focus on my mental health."

The team previously announced on March 25 that Hedman was taking a leave of absence for personal reasons. But those reasons were never disclosed – until now. He was placed on long-term injured reserve and did not return to the ice as the Lightning saw their season end with a first-round loss to the Montreal Canadiens in seven games.

"I've always believed that being a leader means doing what's best for the team," Hedman said in a statement issued on Tuesday, May 5. "In this case, it also meant doing what was necessary to take care of myself, so I can be the best player, teammate, husband and father I expect to be."