The Contract
The Tampa Bay Lightning signed defenseman Victor Hedman to a four-year contract extension worth $8 million per year.
After the painful loss of franchise cornerstone Steven Stamkos on Monday, the Lightning acquired defensive mainstay Victor Hedman a year early.
Signing Hedman now allows the team and players to avoid the rollercoaster that they experienced with Stamkos. Instead, the players can approach the season without distractions. And management can be sure of one of their most important players and the linchpin of their defense. The Lightning’s new core of Hedman, Nikita Kucherov, Andrei Vasilievskiy, Brayden Point and Jake Guenzel are officially under contract for at least three years. This should give GM Julien Brisebois a firm grasp on the cap numbers to find supporting players to extend this team’s chances of winning every year.
Most importantly for a Lightning team that has to operate on a tight budget, Hedman should provide positive value throughout the duration of his next contract. An uncharacteristically poor 2022-23 season may have raised concerns about Tampa Bay’s No. 1 player, but he bounced back last season and paced himself with his best play of the year late in the season. He’s managed to get by without a ton of support around him the past few seasons. The return of Ryan McDonagh should give him the help he’s been missing and help him share the load of game time and maintain a high level of play.
Hedman will be 34 when his next contract takes effect, but should be able to provide positive value over the life of his contract, which is just below Evolving Hockey’s projected $8.6 million cap hit over four years and below his projected value of $8.4 million over that time.
It’s a pretty unique contract for a player of Hedman’s caliber. The closest match is Dmitry Orlov’s two-year deal with the Hurricanes last season, but that’s only 52.4% according to the Cap Friendly comparison tool, so it’s not close at all. That said, the lack of a comparison isn’t a bad thing. This deal could have been longer if Tampa Bay had followed the same path other teams have taken with franchise defensemen in their early to mid-30s. Consider Brent Burns’ eight-year deal with the Sharks at age 32, or Kris Letang’s six-year deal with Pittsburgh in 2022 at age 35. It’s in the Lightning’s best interest to shorten the contract.
Will he still be a liability at 37? Possibly. Player value tends to decline in their late 30s as age-related decline sets in, but remember, even someone as valuable as Hedman is likely to be at least above average for his age.
The deal itself may sting, as Stamkos just signed a four-year contract with Nashville yesterday with an average annual salary of $8 million, but Hedman’s seven-year, $9 million deal with Guenzel on the roster is the best path forward for the Lightning now and in the long term.
Contract Grade: a
Fit Grade: a
(Photo by Mike Ehrman/Getty Images)
