LAS VEGAS — Victor Hedman has had some time to digest a seismic summer for the Tampa Bay Lightning.
That doesn't make seeing his former teammate — a friend he sat beside on the plane and shared road meals with for 15 NHL seasons — sporting yellow threads any less strange.
Steven Stamkos signed with the Nashville Predators in unrestricted free agency July 1 after the now-former Lightning captain was unable to agree on a deal with the club that drafted him first overall in 2008.
Although the 34-year-old's divorce from the organization eventually seemed inevitable as the clock ticked towards the market's open, his departure was still jarring for Hedman once made official.
"We're going to miss the player Steven Stamkos," the big defenceman said at this week's NHL/NHLPA player media tour. "But me personally, obviously, more as a friend … going to be a big change.
"His legacy speaks for itself in Tampa."
At the top of the list is three straight trips to the Stanley Cup final, including victories in 2020 and 2021, that followed a string of painful playoff failures.
Stamkos also twice won the Maurice (Rocket) Richard Trophy as the league's top goal-scorer, with a high-water mark of 60 in 2011-12.
The Markham, Ont., product didn't want to leave Tampa, but the parties couldn't find common ground before Stamkos headed to Music City on a four-year deal worth US$32 million.
"We know exactly what he's accomplished," Hedman said. "We're not going to forget about those memories we created together, but we have to look forward. It's important with training camp coming up that we get together quickly and bond as a group.
"There's going to be a lot of eyes on us."
One area of focus will be the Lightning's captaincy.
Vincent Lecavalier and Martin St. Louis preceded Stamkos in the role — one Hedman wouldn't take lightly if asked to shoulder the burden.
"I wouldn't change the way I am, the way I do things, if I have a 'C' or an 'A' on my jersey," he said. "But it is a privilege to be a captain of the National Hockey League.
"We'll cross that bridge when it comes to that."
In the days before Stamkos hit the road, the Lightning made a huge trade by sending blueliner Mikhail Sergachev to Utah Hockey Club.
Hedman was also in the process of negotiating a new contract before settling on a four-year, $32-million extension — the same term and number Stamkos received in Nashville — that begins in 2025-26.
"A lot going on at the same time," said the 2018 Norris Trophy winner as the NHL's top blueliner. "It was whirlwind, emotional in all kinds of ways. Highs for myself to get to stay and hopefully finish out my career down there.
"Always looked forward to hopefully doing that together with Stammer, but it is what it is."
The 33-year-old said despite the pain of seeing friends exit, his team must turn the page. Tampa inked prized UFA winger Jake Guentzel to a seven-year, $63-million contract July 1, snagged Janis Moser in the Sergachev swap and reacquired fellow blueliner Ryan McDonagh from Nashville.
The Lightning, of course, still have plenty of star power in goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy, winger Nikita Kucherov and centre Brayden Point.
"The standards are always going to be high," Hedman said. "We still have a great team."
But it will be a huge adjustment with Stamkos no longer leading the Lightning onto the ice.
"Everyone's got to come out of their comfort zone a little bit and take more of a leadership role," Hedman said. "It's going to be a challenge for us, but it's something we can do."
PERFETTI HOPEFUL
Winnipeg Jets winger and restricted free agent Cole Perfetti represented his team at the player media tour despite not having a contract with training camp set to open next week.
"Working on a deal," said the 22-year-old. "It's exciting."
WEEGAR BACKING
Jonathan Huberdeau hasn't lived up to expectations since joining the Flames from the Florida Panthers in the Matthew Tkachuk trade.
But Flames defenceman MacKenzie Weegar believes a teammate he's played alongside the last eight seasons has every chance to rediscover his game.
Huberdeau's output in Calgary has totalled a combined 107 points in two seasons — eight less than the 115 he bagged in 2021-22 before the deal that shipped both himself and Weegar to Alberta.
Any chance the retooling Flames have to make a push in 2024-25 would have to almost certainly start with a massive bounceback campaign from Huberdeau.
"Great player," Weegar said. "It's still there. He's still the same guy that we all saw and still has huge flashes of it, but it's just that confidence that you need."
This report by The Canadian Press was first reported Sept. 12, 2024.
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Joshua Clipperton, The Canadian Press