Lightning captain Victor Hedman will undergo elbow surgery next Monday, head coach Jon Cooper told reporters (including Eduardo A. Encina of the Tampa Bay Times). He’ll miss around six weeks and is expected to return in time to play for Sweden at the Olympics in February.
The procedure will ideally put an end to the lingering effects Hedman has been dealing with for the past month-plus. The 34-year-old initially sustained the previously undisclosed injury on Nov. 8 against the Capitals. He missed nearly a month while trying non-surgical remedies and returned to action on Dec. 6 against the Islanders. He played just three games, never topping the 18-minute mark in ice time, before landing back on injured reserve before yesterday’s 8-4 drubbing of the Devils.
The silver lining is that the Bolts have already gotten used to playing without their top defender, and the results have been awe-inspiring. They’ve gone 10-6-0 since Hedman first left the lineup, and they’ve also been without their second pairing of Erik Černák and Ryan McDonagh for most of that time. Their possession metrics back up their record, controlling 53.2% of shot attempts at 5-on-5.
Hedman, a seven-time All-Star and a first-ballot Hall-of-Famer, has been increasingly sheltered at even strength in the past few seasons. That trend continued before his injury, starting a career-high 61.7% of his 5-on-5 shifts in the offensive zone. Despite that, he produced his worst possession metrics in three years and didn’t score a goal on 25 shots through 18 appearances, although he does still rank second among Lightning defensemen with 12 assists, behind Darren Raddysh’s 16.
Until the Olympic break, the Lightning will look to ride the wave their patchwork top-four has given them. Their temporary top pair of Raddysh and J.J. Moser has controlled a remarkable 62.8% of expected goals at 5-on-5, while 27-year-old rookie Charle-Edouard D’Astous and Emil Martinsen Lilleberg have also gelled quite well in second-pairing duties.
Image courtesy of Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images.
Oh man, poor Heddy. Hope for a speedy recovery and If he’s out for six weeks, he should be back towards the end of January. He still could play in the Stadium Series on February 1st. Tampa will continue to hold down the fort in his absence thanks to their solid depth. At least, Ryan McDonagh will be back shortly and Erik Cernak is expected back this month which will only bolster the defense even more.