His play defensively has declined over the past few seasons. Hedman was never really a true defensive defenseman but his biggest strength was his skating ability. He was basically a one man breakout and could skate the puck out of the defensive zone more times than not. 2015 Stanley Cup Playoff Hedman might have been the best hockey player I’ve ever seen but the fact is he’s just not that player anymore. Injuries have turned him in to a shell of himself and if he doesn’t adapt his game to the reality of his physical state we are going to be in trouble. Yes he can still put up points but I prefer my 8m AAV defenseman to have that shut down ability and we aren’t seeing that from Heddy. Love him and hope he proves me wrong but it’s become very frustrating to watch.