Victor Hedman signs eight-year extension with Lightning

The Tampa Bay Lightning have agreed to an eight-year extension with defenseman Victor Hedman worth over $7 million annually.

After re-signing Steven Stamkos, the Tampa Bay Lightning’s next order of business was to find a way to extend perennial Norris Trophy candidate Victor Hedman. General Manager Steve Yzerman found a way to get it done, extending Hedman for the next eight seasons. He will have a cap hit of $7.85 million annually.

“We are very pleased to announce the signing of Victor Hedman to an eight-year contract extension,” said Yzerman, via NHL.com. “Victor has matured into one of the top defensemen in the NHL and coming off the recent re-signing of our captain, Steven Stamkos, we’ve secured another extremely important member of our team.”

That is a remarkably cheap deal for Hedman, as he is a steal compared to other perennial Norris Trophy guys such as Shea Weber and P.K. Subban. Hedman will be with the Lightning for his prime years and his contract is most likely going to be over by the time he starts declining. He’s a very important member of the Lightning and arguably their most valuable player.

Hedman plays during all situations and Jon Cooper relies on him to play huge minutes each night. Despite those responsibilities, he flourishes. Hard to find defensemen like that.

For more NHL coverage, check out our hub page.