Michael_Stuart

"Covering Bolts Hockey "

" • Canada • 26 Years Old • Male

Breaking News: Lightning Re-Sign Hedman to 5 Year Pact

Here with a quick update. The Lightning have signed Victor Hedman to a 5 year $20million contract extension. Hedman, who is second on the team in ice time this season, has struggled offensively this season. Though, the talent is there and it should only be a matter of time before points start to come.

My Thoughts on the Deal:

With this being the last year of his rookie contract, Hedman was bound to re-sign at some point. That being said, I was not expecting it this early in the season.

Despite not turning into the offensive dynamo the Lightning may have been expecting, Hedman has been a minute munching solid defender who has shown a lot of potential. Getting into the details of the deal itself, I’m a little confused by the term as it will leave Hedman in a great bargaining position at the ripe old age of 25/26.

We saw this same sort of thing with the contract of Steven Stamkos. GM Steve Yzerman seems less concerned with the term that he does just getting the player under contract. This philosophy certainly has a lot of pros but there are also a few cons such as the one I’ve highlighted above.

On TSN.ca people are commenting on the deal and saying how Hedman is not worth it. Well, to a certain extent, that may be true. Is he a $4million dollar defenseman right now? Probably not. Is he a $2.5-$3million defenseman right now? It’s probably fair to say that he is. For a young guy at the age of 20, is there room for $1-$1.5million in potential improvement over the span of a couple years? Absolutely.

Overall, I’m happy that the Lightning managed to get Hedman locked up. It was just interesting timing that wasn’t expected from my end of things. What do you think of the deal? Is this the right move for the team?

Thanks for reading and enjoy the game tonight.

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