Victor Hedman played with a torn meniscus for the past three months, Tampa Bay Lightning general manager Julien BriseBois said Tuesday. Hedman is believed to have suffered the injury on March 30 against the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Hedman led the Lightning with an average 24:42 of ice time per game in the playoffs. The star defenseman is set to undergo knee surgery Tuesday with a recovery timetable of three-to-four weeks.
The 2020 Conn Smythe Trophy winner wasn't the only member of the Lightning dealing with a nagging injury during the postseason.
Defenseman Ryan McDonagh and winger Barclay Goodrow each played through a broken hand. McDonagh carried a heavy workload on the penalty kill, leading all Lightning skaters with 57 shorthanded minutes in the postseason. Goodrow, an integral part of the Bolts' third line, logged six points in 18 playoff games.
BriseBois also confirmed Nikita Kucherov sustained a fractured rib after taking a cross-check from the New York Islanders' Scott Mayfield in Game 6 of the semifinals.
BriseBois expects everyone to be ready to go by the time training camp begins in September.
As for the Stanley Cup itself, BriseBois said it's dealing with an "upper-body injury" after an unidentified player dropped it while presenting it to a fan.
The @StanleyCup did sustain some damage during today’s festivities. It’ll be sent to Montreal for repairs and be back to resume Cup celebration with @TBLightning next weekend pic.twitter.com/MEbZGZFxSD
— Joe Smith (@JoeSmithTB) July 12, 2021
Luckily, the Cup will only be out of commission for a couple of days.
