Victor Hedman Inks Tampa Bay Lightning Deal

Tampa, FL — Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Victor Hedman is sticking around for another eight years.

The Lightning announced Hedman’s eight-year contract extension Friday afternoon. Hedman’s deal, worth $7.875-million a season, comes on the heels of Steven Stamkos’ decision to resign with the Bolts for another eight years.

“Victor has matured into one of the top defensemen in the NHL and coming off the re-signing of our captain, Steven Stamkos, we’ve secured another extremely important member of our team,” Lightning vice president and general manager Steve Yzerman said in a statement.

Hedman, 25, played 78 games with the Bolts in last season’s run to the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Over the course of the season, he earned 10 goals. He is currently ranked as the third all-time defensemen in franchise history for career points at 229. That number puts him behind Dan Boyle at 253 points and Pavel Kubina at 243. He also is the second ranked defenseman in franchise history in assists with 180 and fourth for goals at 49.

Hedman was a first round, second overall draft pick for the Lightning in 2009.

The Tampa Bay Lightning hit the ice again Sept. 27 for the first preseason game against the Carolina Hurricanes. The home game kicks off at 7:30 p.m. at Tampa’s Amalie Arena.

The Bolts made it to the playoffs two years in a row. While the team won the Eastern Conference title in 2015, it fell to the Pittsburgh Penguins this year.

By Sarah Connors (Blues vs Lightning-7459.jpg Uploaded by Carport) [CC BY 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons