Lightning captain Victor Hedman will undergo elbow surgery next Monday, head coach Jon Cooper told reporters (including Eduardo A. Encina of the Tampa Bay Times ). He’ll miss around six weeks and is expected to return in time to play for Sweden at the Olympics in February.

The procedure will ideally put an end to the lingering effects Hedman has been dealing with for the past month-plus. The 34-year-old initially sustained the previously undisclosed injury on Nov. 8 against the Capitals. He missed nearly a month while trying non-surgical remedies and returned to action on Dec. 6 against the Islanders. He played just three games, never topping the 18-minute mark in ice time, before landing back on injured reserve before yesterday’s 8-4 drubbing of the Devils.

More to come…

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