Lightning’s Hedman ‘super fresh, motivated’ ahead of return from mental health leave

A positive outlook for one of the more respected players in the game today.

When speaking to Dan Rosen of NHL.com, Tampa Bay Lightning captain Victor Hedman explained how he’s ready to return to the ice after taking time away from the NHL to deal with his mental health struggles.

Hedman stated that he’s prepared, both physically and mentally, to get back into action.

“For me, it’s just feeling healthy and feeling like my body is where I want it to be,” Hedman said. “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.”

The Swedish defenseman took a personal leave of absence from the team in late March, which he later revealed to be related to his mental health. Hedman noted that he didn’t regret going public about his struggles, and explained why he was feeling uneasy during the season.

“For me, it was not really feeling low, but it was performance anxiety, kind of feeling that pressure in your chest as soon as a gameday would hit…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.” 

It was a trying 2025-26 season for the 35-year-old. While the Lightning seemed to return to form, hanging near the top of the Atlantic Division standings, the veteran struggled to stay on the ice. He missed 12 games with an undisclosed injury and was later placed on injured reserve in mid-December. It resulted in Hedman missing the next 22 games, and though he returned in time to join Sweden at the Winter Olympics, another injury suffered during warmups kept him out of action during the team’s quarterfinal game against Sweden. Hedman watched, in uniform, from the bench as the U.S. won in overtime en route to the gold medal.

Hedman ended up playing in 33 games for Tampa last season, scoring just one goal and 17 assists. His absence led to him missing the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, which saw the Bolts get knocked out by the Montreal Canadiens.

“I felt it was important for me to do to get a handle on everything mentally and physically,” Hedman added. “Someone told me that for good leaders sometimes doing the right thing for the team is to kind of step away. I thought that was the right decision for me. I wasn’t myself on the ice. I felt I wasn’t helping the team. So, I felt the best thing for the team was for me to focus on myself away. I don’t regret that decision at all. It was the right thing to do.”

The Lightning open their 2025-26 season on Oct. 1 against the New York Rangers.