Defenseman Victor Hedman has been named captain of the Tampa Bay Lightning ahead of his 16th season with the team.

Hedman will be the 11th captain in Lightning franchise history. Forward Nikita Kucherov and defenseman Ryan McDonagh will join him as alternate captains.

He replaces Steven Stamkos, who wore the "C" from 2014 until he left to join the Nashville Predators in free agency this offseason.

Hedman won the Norris Trophy as the NHL's top defender in 2018 and earned the Conn Smythe for his role in leading the Lightning to the first of back-to-back Stanley Cups in 2020. He has served as an alternate captain in Tampa Bay since the 2018-19 season.

Having played for the Lightning since the team selected him with the No. 2 pick in the 2009 draft, Hedman is the only Tampa Bay defenseman to skate in more than 1,000 games with the team.

Should he appear in 31 more games with the Lightning this season, he will move past Stamkos to become the franchise's all-time leader in games played.

In 15 seasons, Hedman has established himself as the franchise's all-time defensive leader with 728 points, 1,132 hits, 1,613 blocked shots and 529 takeaways.

He also is the team leader among defensemen in most postseason categories, leading Lightning blueliners with 23 goals, 94 assists and 117 points in 165 playoff games.

The 10 goals Hedman scored during the Lightning's 2020 Cup run ranked third only to Hall of Famers Paul Coffey and Brian Leetch for the most goals by a defenseman in a single playoff run in NHL history.

Earlier this offseason the Lightning announced they had signed the 33-year-old blueliner to a four-year, $8 million AAV extension that is set to kick in before the 2025-26 season. The deal is set to keep Hedman in Tampa Bay through the 2028-29 campaign.

McDonagh, who was acquired this spring in a trade with the Predators, spent three prior seasons as alternate captain while playing with the Lightning from 2018 to 2022.

Kucherov, who is heading into his 11th season with the team, will meanwhile continue the role he first held in 2022.

Behind a leadership team comprised of three players with key roles in the 2020 and 2021 championships, the Lightning will look to start out the post-Stamkos era as potential Cup contenders once more.