Hedman caps off an incredible playoff run

The Tampa Bay Lightning are the 2019-20 Stanley Cup champions. A season that started nearly 365 days ago, had a five-month pause due to COVID-19, a post-season with no fans, all while in a bubble away from their friends and family for two months. I think it's safe to say this was one of, if not the hardest Stanley Cup to win in the history of the National Hockey League.

Tampa Bay won a Stanley Cup without their captain, other than the 2 minutes and 47 seconds in Game 3 where he made an immediate impact, scoring a goal. Without Stamkos, they rallied, their depth this year finally got them over the hump, where in years past they couldn't. From Brayden Point, to Nikita Kucherov, to Andrei Vasilevskiy and Victor Hedman, their star power forced them into this position, where they had the chance to bring home their second Stanley Cup in franchise history.

For Victor Hedman in particular, it was an incredible playoff run, capped off by winning the Conn Smythe Trophy as MVP of the 2020 Stanley Cup playoffs. Hedman became only the third Swedish player (Nicklas Lidstrom-2002; Henrik Zetterberg-2008), and only the tenth defenceman to win the Conn Smythe in NHL history.

The second @TBLightning player.
The third player born in Sweden.
The 10th different defenseman.

Victor Hedman is the winner of the 2020 Conn Smythe Trophy. #NHLStats: https://t.co/oTGhm6xJqm #StanleyCup pic.twitter.com/jGxcLmmh0H— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) September 29, 2020

Hedman finished the 2020 Stanley Cup playoffs with 22 points (10 G, 12 A), 24 penalty minutes, and was a +13 in 25 games. With his 10 goals, he sat third on the list of most goals in a single post-season by a defenceman. Only Paul Coffey (12 in 1985) and Brian Leetch (11 in 1994) had more.

Hedman, 29, was drafted in the first round, second overall by the Tampa Bay Lightning in the 2009 NHL entry draft. In 762 career regular season games, he has 473 points (105 G, 368 A), 560 penalty minutes, is a +116. In 109 career playoff games, Hedman has 70 points (17 G, 53 A), 74 penalty minutes, and is a +18.

Hedman is only 29, will be 30 in a few months and he's won a Stanley Cup, a Conn Smythe Trophy, a James Norris Memorial Trophy (nominated for the award four years in a row), and he's a three-time All-Star. He's arguably the best defenceman in the NHL and whenever his career is over, likely not for another 8-10 years, he will no doubt find himself getting the call to the Hockey Hall of Fame.

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