Victor Hedman finished last season with one major question: Would he be healthy?
The defenseman missed the final road trip of the regular season after taking a hit to the head. When he returned in the playoffs, Hedman didn't look like himself.
Now, he has an answer to that question.
"If I wasn't 100 percent, I wouldn't be here right now, I'd be in Tampa," he told reporters at the NHL European Player Media Tour in Sweden.
Hedman went on to say his "body is great" and he's been able to do what he wanted this offseason.
He has skated with Modo in his hometown of Ornskoldsvik, the team for which he played before making the NHL. He plans to return to Tampa in a few weeks for what he called the final touches.
Hedman also addressed the Lightning's postseason collapse last season. He called the sweep a matter of "small details in the game that they did well and we didn't."
"As a player, I think it's important for you to learn from the setbacks and learn from your mistakes and take that with you, but you can't change what happened," he said. "That's in the past and all you can do is do better next time."
For someone who said the 2015 Stanley Cup Final loss will linger until he wins the Cup, it's safe to guess that lesson will stick with Hedman.
