Lightning's Victor Hedman Absence Doomed Sweden Against Team USA

Tampa Bay Lightning star Victor Hedman was going to play for Sweden in its quarterfinal matchup with the United States on Feb. 18. He was geared up and ready to help his country move on in its chase for Olympic gold. But then everything changed.

Hedman sustained what was described as a lower-body injury in pregame warmups, leaving him unavailable for Sweden’s crucial clash against the U.S. In the end, Sweden lost 2-1 in overtime on a Quinn Hughes winner that soared past goalie Jacob Markstrom. It was a devastating loss, one made all the more disappointing given that Hedman’s elite presence on the ice could have been the difference-maker.

“He tweaked something late in the warmups,” Sweden head coach Sam Hallam said after the game. “I was two or three minutes away from walking into the locker room to give my last speech and the starting six when I got news that Hedman was out. Quick check, and he wanted to stay in his uniform and be with his team and his guys. We were planning to start him in the starting six. So there was a quick change there. Hampus Lindholm came in and played a hell of a game.”

No one will ever know for sure whether Hedman’s inclusion in the lineup would have swung things Sweden’s way. Perhaps the United States still would have come out on top in that scenario. There’s just no way to know.

Still, it’s easy to see why people could think that Hedman, the 35-year-old captain for the Lightning, would have been able to at least change the course of events a little bit. After all, his excellent leadership and performance were why he was on the roster at all — it’s fair to assume that having him available could have been enough to make a 2-1 loss a 2-1 win.

Difficult Circumstances Come With Difficult Decisions

Feb 1, 2026; Tampa Bay, Florida, USA; Boston Bruins defenseman Hampus Lindholm (27) in action against the Tampa Bay Lightning during the second period in the 2026 Stadium Series ice hockey game at Raymond James Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images | Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images

Team Sweden’s coaching staff was alerted just 10 minutes prior to the opening face-off that Hedman would be unavailable. That’s a situation no team wants to find itself in, yet the Swedes did their best to cope with the difficult circumstances.

As they weighed their options — do they replace Hedman with Rasmus Andersson, who was a healthy scratch, or do they stick with the defensemen already ready to go? — the immense pressure of the decision had to be debilitating. In the end, Hallam and company stuck with the original plan, with Lindholm coming in and playing well.

“We had seven ‘D’s dressed, so Hampus was good to go,” Hallam said. “We had five seconds to think about it, and we said, ‘No, let’s keep 77 with his group.’ ”

Hedman’s Olympic Journey Is Over

Feb 1, 2026; Tampa Bay, Florida, USA; Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Victor Hedman (77) skates on the ice during warms up before a game against the Boston Bruins in the 2026 Stadium Series ice hockey game at Raymond James Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images | Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images

Prior to the Olympics, Hedman said the 2026 Winter Games would be his one and only shot at claiming a medal. At 35 years old, he wasn’t going to suit up for the Swedes again in 2030. As his teammate Gabriel Landeskog put it after the game, “Talk about a heartbreaker.”

“We knew there was no place he’d rather be than on the ice competing with us,” Landeskog said. “Forced to have to sit out, yeah, I was hurting for him. I really was, and I still am. I know how long he’d been working toward this and looking forward to this.”

Sweden and Hedman will leave Milan without a medal. Hedman’s potential participation will be one of the greatest what-ifs in the history of international ice hockey, particularly if the United States goes on to claim its first gold medal since 1980. Could Hedman have been the one that stopped history? We’ll just never know for sure.

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