New Captain On The Bay

Change sometimes is good. It will feel weird seeing somebody different in a Tampa Bay Lightning uniform with the C on their chest. But that's what we now have with the departure of Steven Stamkos. The Bolts now have there man. his name is Victor Hedman. The big Swede is the 11th captain in the history of the franchise.

The other guys are: Steven Stamkos, Martin St. Louis, Vincent Lecavalier, Tim Taylor, Dave Andreychuk, Vincent Lecavalier, Chris Gratton, Bill Houlder, Rob Zamuner, Mikael Renberg, and Paul Ysebaert.

The numbers for Hedman speak for themselves. Since being drafted 2nd over all by the Lightning in 2009, Hedman has been a steady force on the Bolts blueline. In his 15 years with the club, the 33 year old defenseman has played 1,052 games, collected 728 points, power-play points with 259, shorthanded points with 14, overtime goals with eight, game-winning goals with 28, shots on goal with 2,241, hits with 1,132, blocked shots with 1,613 and takeaways with 529. Hedman has recorded more time on ice than any skater in Bolts franchise history, logging 24,683:30 of total ice time. Oh and he can move into the top of the most games played list in team history with 31 games played this season.

His playoffs numbers are also off the charts. Two Stanley Cups, a Conn Smyth Trophy, 117 playoff games, 23 goals and 94 helpers in the spring. He's played in four all star games, was named  to the first all star team once and the second team five times. Oh and he's also won the Norris Trophy as the leagues best defender once.

But its more to it than just the numbers above. The guy is one of the best all around defenders in the sport and one of the very best the Bolts have ever had wear their crest on his chest. And he's been a quiet leader behind Stamkos for the last decade. Now its his time to step in and take over the role of captain. Something he is more than capable of doing.