Ice hockey-Lightning captain Hedman stepped away to focus on mental health

May 5 (Reuters) – Tampa Bay Lightning captain Victor Hedman revealed on Tuesday that he took a leave of absence from the team to focus on his mental health.

The 35-year-old Swedish defenseman missed the Lightning’s final 15 regular-season games and the first round of the NHL’s Stanley Cup playoffs, in which Tampa Bay were eliminated by the Montreal Canadiens in a decisive seventh game on Sunday.

The two-times Stanley Cup winner last played for the Lightning on March 19 before stepping away from the team. He returned to practice during playoffs but did not play any games.

“Over the past couple of months, I made the decision to step away and focus on my mental health,” Hedman said in a statement released by the Lightning. “It was not an easy decision, but it was the right one.

“I’ve always believed that being a leader means doing what’s best for the team. In this case, it also meant doing what was necessary to take care of myself, so I can be the best player, teammate, husband and father I expect to be.”

Hedman, winner of the Conn Smythe Trophy as Stanley Cup playoffs MVP in 2020, also missed time earlier this season with an elbow injury that required surgery. He returned ahead of the Olympics and played for Sweden, but sat out their quarter-final against the U.S. due to injury.

Hedman is the latest NHL player to take a leave of absence for mental health reasons.

Ottawa Senators goaltender Linus Ullmark stepped away from the team last December, later telling TSN it was for his mental health. 

(Reporting by Nicole Fernandes in Toronto, editing by Ed Osmond)