Tampa Bay Lightning captain Victor Hedman (personal leave) has started skating and is around the team but he remains unavailable to play at the moment, head coach Jon Cooper said on Saturday.
The Lightning kick off their first-round playoff series Sunday at home against the Montreal Canadiens. Cooper added that Hedman will join the Lightning on the road trip to Montreal for Games 3 and 4.
Hedman has been on personal leave from the team since Mar. 25. He last suited up on Mar. 19 against the Vancouver Canucks.
The 35-year-old played just 33 regular-season games, scoring one goal with 17 points while averaging 18:52 of ice time this season.
Hedman missed nearly a month earlier in the season with an undisclosed injury and then missed most of December and all of January due to elbow surgery.
He suited up for Sweden at Milano Cortina 2026 but was unable to play in the 2-1 quarter-final loss against the United States due to a lower-body injury suffered in warmups.
A two-time Stanley Cup champion, Hedman has skated in 1,164 career NHL games since being selected second overall by the Lightning in 2009, scoring 172 goals with 811 points.
He also took home the Norris Trophy in 2018 and the Conn Smythe Trophy in 2020 as playoff MVP.
