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The Edmonton Oilers may be in for some tough stretches in the coming weeks after lead star Connor McDavid walked off their recent loss with a lower-body injury. Seeing their worst start in a season in years, the Edmonton Oilers may have just found themselves in a tough position with Connor McDavid now out with a lower-body injury. At the same time, the Oilers went on to drop that same game where McDavid ended up injured with a 6-1 loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets at the Nationwide Arena. It does seem hard for the Oilers to lose a key star in McDavid, who was a spectacular performer in the Stanley Cup Final last season. They nearly pulled off an 0-3 comeback against the Florida Panthers and dropped the series in seven games. It does seem that McDavid’s absence will also see some drop in their chances of winning in the next set of games. For now, Oilers fans can hope for the best and expect to see some major adjustments for the squad. With the way they are playing right now, Edmonton does not need an absent time from its captain and lead star player now more than ever, and they can only pray that McDavid will not miss too many games and return to his competitive form right away. The Injury Play McDavid went on to be an aggressive star to begin the game after winning the face-off. However, in just 37 seconds of action, the Oilers star was out of commission for the game after he got tripped up by Blue Jackets defenseman Zach Werenski while McDavid was trying to cut his way into the offensive zone. That incident would see McDavid sent into the right boards, although landing awkwardly and badly as the play stopped early. The Blue Jackets defenseman claimed that there was nothing intentional there and said that he was just reaching for the puck when he might have nicked McDavid in the play. McDavid would not return for the whole game after that, and the Oilers would not come up with more than one goal in the game as the Blue Jackets controlled the game and dropped six goals of their own as they cruised past Edmonton. That was a statement – and proof that the Oilers actually need more boost for their offensive woes. Not a Great Start At this point, it can be said that the Oilers are fading away, faster than a bullet fired from afar. Edmonton has lost three of their last five games, and it cannot be denied that the team is really struggling to make it work this season. Whatever magic they had in the previous season, it is long gone – and it is certainly not working well with McDavid not present and out with an injury. As it stands, the team now has a 4-5-1 record, 13th in the West. That is not a good sign for the team at this point, and with McDavid set to be re-evaluated in the coming weekend, it does seem that their chances are getting trimmed now more than ever. The Oilers did not provide a timeline in his status, leaving the severity of his injury on an uncertain note. “It's tough, anytime you are playing without your best player, but it’s something that’s hopefully short term," Knoblauch said. "Obviously, our team is going to look different. Maybe that's one, two games." Still, one can say that the Oilers are still far from the “panic mode” that the critics expect them to be right now. But with McDavid injured, the odds for the Oilers to win in their game this Sunday against the Calgary Flames and the home game against the New Jersey Devils are quite on the fence moving forward, and that says a lot about the impact of missing their captain.

While there aren’t high expectations for the Winnipeg Jets to begin this season, it seems that the team is shocking many fans and critics this year with their strong start. So far, the team has won four games at home, and four games on the road. At this point, one can say that the Jets are truly making a big stride in their games now more than ever. However, the Jets have now suffered a poor loss at the hands of the Toronto Maple Leafs after John Tavares drilled three goals while Anthony Stolarz saved 19 goals to hold off the cruising Jets. So far, the Jets have cooled off, and they didn’t really have much answer to the Maple Leafs right from the start. So far, this loss sets the Jets back by just a notch, but that defeat shows that Winnipeg isn’t invulnerable, which says a lot about their chances of winning this season as they seek to continue gunning for more wins and keep hold of the Western Conference’s top spot. A Promising Push to the Top The Western Conference is the most competitive side of the NHL, and there are a lot of teams to look out for one year after another. While repeat champions are common in the NHL, the West usually has a different contender coming out of the hole, and that says a lot about the high competitive performances that is expected from every team. The Jets, so far, have become an elite team to look out for so far, and it cannot be denied that the team is really starting to show that they have what it takes to prove that they are a contender team now more than ever. With the way the Jets are starting to build a promising reputation in the game, one can say that this is their chance to deliver a fantastic campaign to remember. The early returns may have been really too favorable for the Jets, but it does seem that it is a show of improvement as to how they have addressed their previous issues so far. If you are not impressed, the Jets have actually won 16 regular season games combined up to this moment, with the last eight dating back to the previous season. While this drop to the Maple Leafs is really disappointing, fans should look out for more of their big games in the next few weeks. One can say that this is just a proof of their need for improvement in the games as well. A Renewed Hope for Winnipeg Jets forward Mark Scheifele certainly understands that the team has gone on to build a much more confident approach in the season. However, the star also claims that this is not a time to be complacent and must find more ways to continue winning in their games and ensure that they are not letting up night in and night out. "We've found ways to get wins, but I think the biggest thing is to continue to work at things and continue to get better. It's still so early in the season,” said Scheifele. “There's a lot of games left and I think you can't let complacency set in because we've won a few in a row. We have to continue to push for more and continue to push for a more full effort throughout the game." The Jets were the ninth team in the history of the NHL to start the season with eight wins in a row. They are also the fourth Canadian team to pull off the same feat while it also tied the franchise record that the team has yet to allow more than three goals in a single game.

Fans at the TD Garden were hyped up with the way the Bruins approached the game and stayed on par against one of the biggest teams in the NHL in the Dallas Stars. However, it seemed that Matt Duchene’s big performances were enough to help silence the fans as Dallas blew past Boston for a 5-2 win. Duchene was a playoff hero for the Stars in their October 19 victory against the Edmonton Oilers, and it does seem that his game is constantly improving with consistent growth as the star has emerged with another impressive game for Dallas. This time, he helped out on the playmaking side as he managed to deliver an impressive run for the Stars to take a much-needed victory. So far, the Stars are sitting at the third spot of the Western Conference, tied with the Winnipeg Jets and Minnesota Wild in points, which says a lot about how the game has been really intense in the West to begin with, and fans can say that this is something that critics have predicted moving towards the next set of games in the season. A Duchene Clinic Duchene finished the game with a goal and two assists to help out in the Stars’ wire-to-wire finish against the Boston Bruins. It was a massive performance for Duchene, who has been really spectacular on the offensive end as he dictated plays and even drew a lot of defenders to open up the shooter’s block before scoring his lone goal of the game at 16:20 of the first to tie it at 1-1. At this point, it cannot be denied that Duchene is on his breakout season so far, and the Stars are riding on his impressive performances this season to put up the needed wins. At this point, staying on par against the big contenders of the West is definitely needed for them to stay afloat, and that is something that fans should expect from Duchene now more than ever. For this game, however, it does seem that Duchene has been really impressive with the way he has managed to come up with elite performances. At this point, one can say that the Stars have found themselves a reliable and promising performer to help them make a deep run in the 2024-25 NHL season now more than ever. By the Numbers Duchene isn’t the only elite performer who has had a promising performance in the game. There’s also Tyler Seguin, who also had a goal and two assists for the Stars as the team plowed their way through. Dallas scored three power-play goals in the second period to take a 4-2 lead, and that tied a team record for the most PPG ever since the team moved to Dallas in 1993. Jeremy Swayman, who is making a lot of noise in his opening run as Boston’s starting goalie, impressed well with 27 saves for the Bruins. However, Boston has now dropped to a 3-4-1 record, including three straight losses so far. The Bruins were scoreless in final frame but did outshot the Stars at 10-7. Dallas, however, managed to score an empy-net goal at 17-58 to cap off the 5-2 victory. The Stars are set to take on the Chicago Blackhawks this weekend, where they are heavy favorites to win with odds of -315 according to the latest major sportsbooks. They are also expected to cover the -3.95 spread, which fans can consider for a parlay bet. Make sure to check out your potential winnings at GambleSpot’s Odds and Parlay Calculator today!

The San Jose Sharks are quite on the fence to begin the 2024-25 NHL season after a poor start and not even coming up with a single win in their first six games. With Macklin Celebrini out for two more weeks, it does seem that the team will have less chances of winning in their games now more than ever. This is the second season that the Sharks have already been struggling out of the gate to begin a campaign, with the previous season going 0-10-1 to this year’s 0-4-2 record as of the time of writing. So far, it has been a challenging campaign for the team, Celebrini’s absence is expected to bring more problems for the team at this point in time. The Sharks are coming into the season with a lot of new. They have a new rookie in Celebrini, a new first-year head coach in Ryan Warsofsky, and yet the only thing that isn’t different so far is the way they started out the season – on a losing stride. And it seems that they are still struggling to figure things out. An Unfortunate Rookie Injury Selected first overall in the 2024 NHL Draft, Celebrini was expected to be the real deal for the Sharks this season as he was hyped to be one of the impressive performers in the class. However, due to a lower-body injury, the Sharks are now relegating Celebrini to the injured reserve list, which means that he’ll be out for action in the next two weeks. “He's week to week, but I would say we'll [probably] give you another update in two weeks," general manager Mike Grier said of Celebrini’s status. "He's going to miss some games here to start, but I think he's getting his skill work done off the ice. He's doing his gym work. I don't think it's going to hinder any of his development.” It can be remembered that Celebrini was injured right off the bat in his debut back in October 10. He finished his game with a goal and an assist in their 5-4 overtime loss to the St. Louis Blues, showing impressive performances despite playing only a few minutes. “It's definitely been helpful for him to spend some more time in the gym, to keep building up his body to get used to the rigors of the League,” Grier added. “When he gets back, he's going to be going against teams' top pair D most nights." A Season Start of Disappointments According to head coach Ryan Warsofsky, the Sharks have also a host of injured players, such as forward Thomas Bordeleau (lower body) and defensemen Marc-Edouard Vlasic (upper body) and Shakir Mukhamadullin (lower body). These players did not join the first game of their three-game road trip against the Anaheim Ducks. For Grier, the Sharks are still in the process of development – a work in progress as he calls it. The Sharks needed to play their last six games without Celebrini, and that certainly did not help with the way their season has unfolded so far. "The last two years definitely have been tough, but there's a lot of new guys in the room,” Grier said. “There's a new coaching staff, so to expect guys to come out and gel right away, chemistry-wise, learn the system, what the coaches want, the expectations, and everything, it's going to take some time." So far, it does seem that the Sharks are still in need of a massive improvement, and it cannot be denied that the team is really far from their expected rise to dominance this season. All that would rest on how Celebrini can return to action as fast as he can to help the team win.

Winners of three games in a row, the Toronto Maple Leafs have now found themselves to be in a promising position to begin the 2024-25 NHL season after a strong start. So far, the team now sits at the 1st seed for the Eastern Conference with a 3-1 record in their first four games, and it seems that they are not slowing down at this point.  We are seeing the different look of the Toronto Maple Leafs after the team finished fifth last season and was knocked out of the first round by the Boston Bruins in their playoff run. It seems that the team is enjoying a different vibe in their campaign this season as they have found ways to pull off impressive victories. In their first four games, the Maple Leafs have emerged with three wins in a row after losing to the Montreal Canadiens in their season opener. They would then go on to deliver three successive victories in a row and have been carrying the same pace ever since. Fans can expect them to come up with impressive wins in the coming week as well. A Winning Streak of Sorts That 1-0 loss to the Montreal Canadiens proved to be quite a bummer to begin their season, but the Maple Leafs would go on to pick up the pace and deliver an impressive performance, showing that they have what it takes to change the pace of their game when needed. So far, the Maple Leafs have become the team they were expected to be – an elite contender. If you are not impressed, it is worth noting that the Maple Leafs have scored 14 goals in four games. In those three wins, Toronto has scored more than four goals, with the most recent win against the Los Angeles Kings seeing them total six points by the end of the game. On top of that, their defense has improved well with all three opponents being held to just two points in those games. At this point, it is hard to argue that Toronto has significantly improved with the way they have attacked the offensive side, and their defense has totally stepped up at a high level. Now more than ever, it is expected that Toronto might just end up as a leading contender in the Eastern Conference to look out for.  Matthews Struggling? The Toronto Maple Leafs have significantly improved as a team, but they have really not paid attention to the new captain in charge, Auston Matthews who – in four games into the season – has scored only a single goal. That is a rare front considering the fact that he was nearly on target to reach a total of 70 goals last season and was even poised to be an MVP candidate.  That being said, this will all come to light when the Maple Leafs take on the challenge against the Texas Rangers this weekend, which can be quite a challenge for the team considering how Matthews has taken back his scoring machine mode so far. However, fans can expect to see more from the team overall as they pick up the slack from the captain moving forward. The Maple Leafs are heavy favorites to win in the clash, with odds of -127 to win. However, it is also expected that Matthews would be likely to score less than -1.5 goals in the game, which should be a good choice for you to wager on in the long run if you are keen to make some handsome winning bets.

We all know how the Boston Bruins are expected to make some big changes in the squad, especially with the Jeremy Swayman drama finally dealt with. However, it seems that the team is now expecting to see more from Matt Poitras’ development in the game with a much more promising note in his performances this season. It is worth noting that Poitras was absent for the last five months of action that the Bruins had in the 2023-24 season after the latter had a shoulder injury that kept him out of the game since January 25. This season is the first time that he’ll play games, and he’s been impressive so far with those elite-level performances. So far, head coach Jim Montgomery believes that they are seeing the best from Poitras this season, claiming that his 34th game in total and the first for this season is better than all of the previous 33 games played before his surgery. That says a lot about how Poitras is seen as one of the reliable pieces for the Bruins heading into the season. A Special Player Coming in as a surprise contributor for the Bruins at the age of 19 last season, Poitras was clearly an impressive player in his own right, tallying five goals and 10 assists before going down with an injury. So far, Poitras has done a great job of improving his game, and he is even looking a lot stronger, hungrier, and more skilled than when he entered the previous season. “For his first game back in eight months, special,” Montgomery said. “I thought that’s the best game he’s played as an NHL player, including some two-goal games last year.” It cannot be denied that Poitras is making his case as a special player for the Bruins this season. He did miss the first two games of the 2024-25 season with an undisclosed injury but showed up well when he helped the Bruins knock off a 2-1 win against the Los Angeles Kings last Saturday. That was the second overtime game for Poitras, and he did well to prove that he’s back on top of his game. “Definitely builds the confidence,” Poitras said of his season debut. “Hopefully get the conditioning back a bit better than it was tonight, play whatever minutes are given to me and just keep doing my thing.” A Center on the Rise David Pastrnak claimed that he’s seen a big growth from Poitras this season, despite playing only one game so far. He did see the decisive decision-making skill from the Bruins youngster and it does seem that Poitras can continue developing into a reliable wing player for the team or even at the center spot in the long run. “I think he’s going to be much better than last year,” Pastrnak said. “First of all, he has a little bit of experience from last season. He had a bad injury, which, on the other hand, gave him a lot of time to work and get stronger. For a young kid like him, summer is important. He had a good summer. So far, you can see he’s well prepared.” Poitras is just starting out his story in the NHL, and it cannot be denied that the center is starting to make some noise in the game as he seeks to prove that he can thrive on the big stage and deliver elite-level performances in the long run.

After being traded from the Boston Bruins last season, Linus Ullmark is now slated to stay for more years with the Ottawa Senators as the team seeks to come up with a playoff run after a dismal season. The 31-year-old goalie is now slated to play for the team until the 2028-29 NHL season unless he is traded. Ullmark initially had one season left to go in his four-year, $20 million contract ($5 million AAV) he signed with the Boston Bruins on July 28, 2021. Had he not signed with the Senators this season, Ullmark would have ended up as an unrestricted free agent after the season and would have been a massive icon in the free agency market. Instead, the Senators lock him up and intend to build around him in the coming years. It is worth noting that Ullmark is yet to play a game for the Senators due to an injury. He was sent by the Bruins in a package that landed them goalie Joonas Korpisalo, forward Mark Kastelic and a first-round pick in the 2024 NHL Draft in return. Now Ullmark is expected to come up with a bigger stride in the coming season with the hopes of guiding the young squad of the Senators to bigger results. A Bigger Chance for Ullmark Ullmark said that this was quite unexpected and felt that it is a monumental signing for him. The goalie has seen a lot of tough stretches in his career, but he is pleased to say that this chance that the Senators have given him is a hope that he can still engineer his career in th NHL and somehow be a top-performing star for the team in the months to come. "To all the people of Ottawa and Gatineau, I've felt the support and the love right from the start. It took me literally five minutes to be recognized when I went out for coffee my first day here. At that point, as well, you can tell that it's a Canadian market and that hockey is what it's all about,” Ullmark said. “I'm very thankful that I have now the opportunity to build something long term. I'm trying to bring all of my experience from those hardships and also the good times into this organization.” Ullmark is slated to play under the reins of Brady Tkachuk, who took over captaincy for the Senators this season. The latter is pleased to play alongside the star and seeks to see him in action when they wage their campaign for the 2024-25 NHL season. A Massive Addition for the Senators Ottawa isn’t much of a big team to look out for considering how poorly they finished with a 37-41-4 record last season – which was the third worst in the Eastern Conference, merely ahead of the Montreal Canadiens and the Columbus Blue Jackets. Adding Ullmark, however, is a sign that they are not backing down from the challenge of improvement this season. Ullmark finished 22-10-7 with a 2.57 goals-against average, .915 save percentage and two shutouts in 40 regular-season games (39 starts) with Boston last season. The sixth-round selection of the Buffalo Sabres back in the 2012 NHL Draft boasts a 138-73-23 with a 2.51 GAA, .919 save percentage and eight shutouts in 247 regular-season games for his career and is one of the best goalies in the game, having won the Vezina trophy back in the 2022-23 season. Now with the Senators, Ullmark believes that he can focus well with everything settled for him in the coming months. Fans can expect him to deliver his elite-level defense and help Ottawa qualify for the playoffs now more than ever.

After a long time of delay and talks that proved to be heading nowhere, Jeremy Swayman finally gets what he deserved with the Boston Bruins as he signed an eight-year, $66 million deal with the team and is now set to start the season opener for the team with the hopes of leading them to a bigger run in in the 2024-25 campaign. There were a lot of talks as to how Jeremy Swayman may end up being signed by another team to start off the 2024-25 season as the talks initiated by the Boston Bruins ended up nowhere in the early days of the offseason. However, it does seem that the team silenced all of those rumors as the goalie was eventually signed to a bigger deal that would now see him stay as their starting player for the next eight years. It is worth noting that Swayman did not participate in any of the Bruins’ training camp sessions in the offseason, nor did he play any games in the preseason as well. He did, however, went on to join in practices held at the Boston University, which was led by former Bruins assistant Jay Pandolfo. A Clutch Signing It cannot be denied that the Bruins’ signing of Swayman came in as clutch as it can ever be. The season is slated to begin and will see the Bruins hopefully build off a promising start after what seems to be an upsetting playoff run where they lost to the Florida Panthers in the playoffs. Signing Swayman means that the team is indeed dedicated to bringing in the goalie for the years to come and will definitely be on the prowl for the starting role as well. He spent the previous seasons with the Bruins in a shared role with Linus Ullmark, before the latter moved on from the Bruins later in the season. “It’s a breath of fresh air,” Swayman said. “And I tell you what, it’s an amazing thing to just understand how many people would do anything to be in the position I am. I don’t take that lightly. I celebrate it every day. I feel like I’m the luckiest human in the world. And again, to be in the position that I am, the gratitude is just pouring from everywhere. I know exactly what kind of trust they have in me and the expectations they have of me. I have the same, if not more, expectation of myself to perform and let everyone know that they made the right decision.” Starting the Season Opener? Swayman is rumored to be on the starting side of the team when they play against the Florida Panthers at the Amerant Bank Arena. As the full-time starter of the team, the Bruins are definitely expecting to see him suit up in the game now more than ever. Considering the fact that there are a lot of factors to consider – such as Swayman missing out on training camp, there may be different endings to that end. Regardless, having Swayman at the ready means that the Bruins are not coming to the game shorthanded. After all, playing against the defending champions is no easy task, and having a star in Swayman – who went 25-10-8 with a 2.53 goals-against average and .916 save percentage in 44 games (43 starts) last season is clearly a promising look for the team at this point in time.

With just seven days left until the Boston Bruins enter the 2024-25 NHL season, it seems that they are still yet to address their issues with Jeremy Swayman as the star goalie is yet to be secured for the coming season and beyond. Rumors, however, claim that the Bruins are working out a contract that will see the star back in action right away. Swayman has yet to be a full-time starter for the Bruins in the past few seasons and has never seen more than 44 games of action in his four seasons. So far, it cannot be denied that Swayman’s previous deal, set at a one-year, $3.475 million deal was really quite a low-ball that would have seen the star signing with another team instead. At this point, the Bruins are said to be working out with the goalie’s agents to come up with a promising deal and shore up the goal-defense side at this point. That all remains to be seen as no news of a new offer to Swayman has surfaced as of the time of writing. This means that the Bruins are running out of time to bring him in before the season begins. A Deserved Raise for Swayman So far, Swayman is believed to be offered an eight-year deal with the team capped at $64 million, which places him at $8 million per season. While it may look like a hefty price, this puts the Bruins goalie behind four other goalies in terms of annual salary, with the likes of Sergei Bobrovsky (Florida Panthers), Andrei Vasilevskiy (Tampa Bay Lightning), Connor Hellebuyck (Winnipeg Jets), and Ilya Sorokin (New York Islanders) on the list. However, Swayman’s representative Lewis Gross claimed that the Bruins have not offered anything in the $64-million mark, saying that the party is disappointed and the talks aren’t fair for Swayman’s contributions to the success of the Boston Bruins over the years. It can be noted that Swayman was said to be the team’s next goalie after they traded Linus Ullmark to the Ottawa Senators in June. "Normally, I do not release statements or discuss negotiations through the media," Gross wrote. "However, in this case, I feel I need to defend my client. At today's press conference, $64 million was referenced. This was the first time that number was discussed in our negotiations. Prior to the press conference, no offer was made reaching that level.” Swayman’s Impressive Groove Swayman played in split time with Ullmark last season, amassing a 25-10-8 record with a 2.53 GAA, a .916 save percentage, and three shutouts in 44 games (43 starts). He would go on to take over the position in the playoffs and started in 12 of Boston’s 13 games, including 11 straight. In that stretch, Swayman tallied a 2.15 GAA and .933 save percentage and led the team to a Game 6 run against then-champions Panthers in the semis. So far, the stats show that Swayman should definitely be a priority signing for the team, and it says a lot about Boston’s hopes of bringing in the goalie for another deep playoff run at this point. "I have been in constant communication with Don and with Cam about the Jeremy Swayman contract negotiations," Bruins CEO and alternate governor Charlie Jacobs said. "I just want to be very clear, we're in a state of constant communication regarding Jeremy and our hope is he's on the ice as soon as possible."

Cole Perfetti is slated to deliver two more years with the Winnipeg Jets with the hopes of reigniting his career and helping them come up with a massive run to the playoff stage. The forward signs a two-year contract with the team worth $6.5 million as he aims to reinvigorate his game with the Jets in the coming season. Reports claim that the Jets and Perfetti were initially unable to work out a long-term deal that would eventually see him sign a max contract had it worked out well. Instead, the team has found a great way to bring him in for the years to come with a bridge-styled contract, which should work out the same as a max deal but on a different operational status. Pefetti mostly sat on the bench in the previous seasons after falling out of favor from former Jets coach Rick Bowness in the late campaign with postseason implications being considered in the game. That time, Perfetti only played one game in the playoffs, which also happened to be last game of the postseason. Redeeming His Worth Perfetti finished the previous season with 38 points off 19 goals and 19 assists in 71 games. He finished his third season well despite not being used in the later stages of the season, which proved to be pivotal in his value in the offseason as he entered the market as a restricted free agent. Selected 10th overall in the 2020 NHL Draft, Perfetti now seeks a fresh start under new coach Scott Arniel. It cannot be denied he will be making big strides in the season as he hopes to gain back his minutes and show that he has what it takes to deliver impressive performances and score well in the game as he did last season. After all, Perfetti is one of the youngest players in the squad, being just three seasons in the NHL. His impressive game was definitely on the rise had it not been for the late benching in the previous season, and it is a no-brainer that he could have made a massive impact in the playoffs for the Jets if he was given a chance to play in those games. Making the Most of the Bridge Contract The bridge contract allows Perfetti to play like he has a promising stay with the team. He will be making a total of $3 million this season and $3.5 million in 2025-26. After that, he will become a restricted free agent once more, but this time with arbitration rights in the summer of 2026, which would allow him to come up with a much bigger deal with the team in the long run. Coming off a rough third season in Winnipeg, Perfetti has struck a promising deal that would see him come up with an impressive position to negotiate in the long run. For Jets general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff, this is a show of promise that he hopes to keep the forward in the long run. “The hardest part is that there’s different levels of contract negotiations in this league,” Cheveldayoff said. “RFAs (who) don’t have arbitration rights. RFAs coming out of their first contract generally don’t have arbitration rights and that becomes a sticking point sometimes. When players do have arbitration and they file, there’s a deadline and there’s a mechanism in place that contracts follow and you work towards that.”

At the age of 33, Victor Hedman takes over the reins of the Tampa Bay Lightning heading into the 2024-25 NHL season as the team enters a new dawn with Steven Stamkos, the team’s former captain moving on from the team. The star defenseman is now expected to lead the way for the team as they seek to re-enter the competitive Stanley Cup Playoffs and make a deeper run for the Stanley Cup for the third time around. Hedman initially signed a four-year, $32 million extension deal with the Lightning last July to keep him with the team through the 2028-29 season. With the team prioritizing a new, younger core, Stamkos opted to sign his talents elsewhere, joining the newly-formed super team of the Nashville Predators after inking a four-year, $32 million deal as well. Stamkos held the role for a decade before moving on from the Lightning. He led them to two Stanley Cup victories and has definitely been a huge part of the team’s culture. Now the team looks up to Hedman to deliver the same level of success as he takes over the leadership role of the team now more than ever. A New Era in Tampa Bay Tampa Bay was the latest team to win back-to-back Stanley Cup championships over the past few years, but now the team enters a new era with the hopes of reigniting the team’s contender status in the game. So far, Tampa Bay has been on a losing stride in the playoffs since their last Stanley Cup win, and Hedman would definitely love to take his chance to lead the team to greatness once more. "It means the world, obviously, for me to lead this team is a great honor," Hedman said. "It's a big privilege and a big responsibility, but I've learned from a lot of great leaders, [especially] my good friend ‘Stammer,’ who's been my captain for the last 10-11 years. I'm not going to change the way I am and the way I approach my game. There's a lot more responsibility wearing that 'C', but to do it for the team that I've played with for 15 years means the world to me." Hedman’s leadership is a sign that the team is starting off a little bit fresh with their perspective in winning a championship. With the core almost still intact, one can say that the Lightning can find its way to the championship run, this time under Hedman’s lead should they be able to brave through the competitive Eastern Conference. A New Decorated Captain Like Stamkos, Hedman is definitely a deserving captain for the Lightning. He is a two-time Stanley Cup champion with the team and is historically one of the best defensemen in the game, leading the team in games (1,052), points (728), power-play points (259), short-handed points (14), overtime goals (eight), game-winning goals (28), shots on goal (2,241), hits (1,132), blocked shots (1,613) and takeaways (529). It can also be remembered that Hedman won the Conn Smythe Trophy in the 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs as the MVP. He was also a finalist for the Norris Trophy for six straight seasons from 2016 to 2022 – an award given to the best defenseman in the NHL. Now that he is a captain, it would not be easy for Hedman to deliver a huge success, but he is certainly willing to try and give it the best shot he can.