Lightning’s Victor Hedman drops huge NHL Stadium Series injury update

The Tampa Bay Lightning have been without their captain since early December, but all signs point to star defenseman Victor Hedman returning to the lineup for the 2026 NHL Stadium Series at Raymond James Stadium on Sunday evening.

“Like I said before, playing in this game has been a big motivation in me coming back,” Hedman told NHL.com’s Mike Zeisberger on Saturday morning. “It’s up to [coach Jon Cooper] and the trainers, so we’ll see at game time. But I felt good out there. All the signs are positive.”

The two-time Stanley Cup champion continued: “I can’t say how proud I am of the guys. They have a great thing going here, and I’m looking forward very much to be part of it if things work out.”

The Lightning have gone 17-3-2 in Hedman’s absence and currently sit in first place in the Eastern Conference.

Hedman earned some stick taps from his teammates after Saturday’s practice, per Zeisberger, and Cooper confirmed shortly after that the veteran would be in the lineup on Sunday.

“I think you saw at the end of practice there what happened,” Cooper said. “So, you know, barring him coming in saying no, which I think is extremely doubtful, most likely [he’ll play].”

Hedman was injured during a 6-1 victory over the Montreal Canadiens at the Bell Centre on Dec. 9. He was placed on injured reserve a couple of days later and has been recovering from an elbow procedure he underwent shortly afterwards.

The blue liner has managed 12 assists over 18 games in 2025-26.

Lightning, Bruins two of league’s hottest teams ahead of Stadium Series

The Lightning, who have been red hot over the last month and a half, will host the Boston Bruins on Sunday, who have won eight of their last 10 games.

It should be an excellent matchup between two clubs locked in on banking points ahead of the Olympic break.

“Victor is our big captain,” goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy, who has been lights out since the middle of December, said of Hedman after practice. “He brings a lot of energy to our team.”

“He’s our emotional leader,” echoed forward Jake Guentzel. “He’s our captain for a reason. He plays a lot of minutes and does a lot of things for our team.”

The Bolts have three more games before the Winter Olympics in Milan commence next month; after Sunday’s Stadium Series, they’ll host the Buffalo Sabres on Tuesday and archrival Florida Panthers on Thursday.

After that, they’ll be out of action until Feb. 25 as NHL players head overseas to represent their respective countries. Hedman will be suiting up for Team Sweden, who play their first game against host Italy on Feb. 11.

Puck is set to drop on the NHL’s 47th outdoor game — at the home of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers — just past 6:30 p.m. ET on Sunday evening.

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