Victor Hedman is heading into camp with the Tampa Bay Lightning carrying a different mindset after the toughest season of his career.
Speaking to NHL.com's Dan Rosen on Wednesday, the Lightning captain didn't dodge how brutal last year actually was.
"Last year was a tough year in many regards," Hedman said, before adding he's now entering his 18th season in the League.
He also said he was dealing with performance anxiety that became overwhelming during the season.
Hedman described waking up on game days with tightness in his chest, feeling pressure build, and struggling to move past mistakes the way he normally had throughout his career.
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He played just 33 games last season, managing 17 points on 1 goal and 16 assists, a career-low workload for the veteran defenseman.
His power play production held up even in limited action, with 6 assists on the man advantage across those 33 appearances.
Hedman was blunt about the gap in his game. "I haven't played a game since obviously March," he admitted, without hiding from it.
At 35 years old and carrying an $8 million cap hit, that's the kind of admission that usually invites questions, not confidence.
Hedman insists he still has plenty left in the tank
But Hedman pushed back on any notion that his window is closing. "I know what it takes to be good in this League," he said.
He called it a great summer and said he feels ready going into camp, the kind of quote that either ages well or doesn't.
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The Lightning finished last season 50 and 26 and 6, racking up 106 points and a plus 59 goal differential, one of the better marks in the League.
Tampa Bay scored 3.5 goals a game and allowed 2.8, good enough for the fifth-best record in the entire League.
Over his last 10 games before the layoff, Hedman posted just 4 points, a quiet stretch for a player who's carried Tampa Bay's blue line for years.
An $8 million defenseman telling you he feels great is the hockey equivalent of a pitcher saying his arm feels loose in spring training. Nobody believes it until they see the fastball.
Confidence talk is easy in August. Nobody's hitting him yet.
Training camp will be the first real test of whether the words match what Hedman can still give a Lightning team built to win now.
Do you believe Victor Hedman when he says he's still an elite defenseman at 35?
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