NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — Victor Hedman aggravated the undisclosed injury that recently caused him to miss 12 games, and it's too soon to know how long the Tampa Bay Lightning's captain and No. 1 defenseman will be out, coach Jon Cooper said Thursday.
Hedman is seeing doctors “to get second opinions on what’s wrong with him,” according to Cooper, who was not sure yet whether the soon-to-be 35-year-old Swede should be considered day to day or week to week. Hedman will miss at least three games after going on injured reserve.
“Obviously a step back,” Cooper said. “We didn’t anticipate this.”
Hedman had just returned to the lineup last weekend after missing nearly a month from Nov. 12-Dec. 8. He left late in the second period of Tampa Bay's win at Montreal on Tuesday night and did not return.
After being sidelined for the Lightning's game Thursday night at New Jersey, Hedman is not eligible to play Saturday at the New York Islanders or Monday night back home against defending Stanley Cup champion and cross-state rival Florida on Monday night. He averages over 21 minutes a game, second on the team, and has been a franchise cornerstone for more than a decade, including winning the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP in 2020 during the first of back-to-back title runs.
“Hedman, he’s our captain — he’s a huge part of our team," Cooper said. "But if it’s going to happen — which you don’t want it to — but if it is, it’s better it happens now than in April.”
The Lightning recalled defenseman Declan Carlile from Syracuse of the American Hockey League to take Hedman's spot in the lineup.
Hedman joins fellow two-time Cup champions Andrei Vasilevskiy, Erik Cernak and Ryan McDonagh on IR. Tampa Bay won 17 of its first 30 games this season despite the constant barrage of injuries to top players.
“I’ve liked the way we’ve played,” Cooper said. “Have we won one game out of our last five? We have. Am I upset the way we’ve played? No. We just haven’t been able to score. ... There’s a lot to like about our game, and that’s the part for me is to not change your game, not let the frustration set in because we’re not scoring.”
Vasilevskiy remains day to day and McDonagh is skating and getting closer, but Cooper does not expect either to play on this road trip.
“Another one we thought would be back before this, so it’s a little bit of a wait and see,” Cooper said of Vasilevskiy. "But my concern level, it hasn’t reached a big height yet.”
Canada's coach for the upcoming Olympics, Cooper does not think Sweden should be worried about not having Hedman available for the tournament scheduled to start Feb. 11 in Milan.
“I wouldn’t worry about the Olympics: I hope not," Cooper said. "It’s still, what, two months away? I know it’s something he’s really looking forward to. It’s on all our minds. But don’t let the country hit the panic button yet.”
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FILE - Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Victor Hedman (77) and Colorado Avalanche center Nathan MacKinnon (29) battle for the puck in the first period of an NHL hockey game, Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2025, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
FILE - Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Victor Hedman (77) warms up before an NHL hockey game against the New York Islanders, Dec. 6, 2025, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara, File)
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Indiana's Republican-led Senate decisively rejected a redrawn congressional map Thursday that would have favored their party, defying months of pressure from President Donald Trump and delivering a stark setback to the White House ahead of next year's midterm elections.
The vote was overwhelmingly against the proposed redistricting, with more Republicans opposing than supporting the measure, signaling the limits of Trump's influence even in one of the country's most conservative states.
Trump has been urging Republicans nationwide to redraw their congressional maps in an unusual campaign to help the party maintain its thin majority in the House of Representatives. Although Texas, Missouri, Ohio and North Carolina went along, Indiana did not — despite cajoling and insults from the president and the possibility of primary challenges.
“The federal government should not dictate by threat or other means what should happen in our states,” said Spencer Deery, one of the Republican senators who voted no on Thursday.
When the proposal failed 31-19, cheers could be heard inside the chamber as well as shouts of “thank you!” The debate had been shadowed by the possibility of violence, and some lawmakers have received threats.
The proposed map was designed to give Republicans control of all nine of Indiana’s congressional seats, up from the seven they currently hold. It would have effectively erased Indiana’s two Democrat-held districts by splitting Indianapolis among four districts that extend into rural areas, reshaping U.S. Rep. André Carson’s safe district in the city. It would have also eliminated the northwest Indiana district held by U.S. Rep. Frank Mrvan.
District boundaries are usually adjusted once a decade after a new census. But Trump has described redistricting as an existential issue for the party as Democrats push to regain power in Washington.
“If Republicans will not do what is necessary to save our Country, they will eventually lose everything to the Democrats,” Trump wrote on social media the night before the vote.
The president said anyone who voted against the plan should lose their seats. Half of Indiana senators are up for reelection next year, and the conservative organization Turning Point Action had pledged to fund campaigns against them.
David McIntosh, president of Club for Growth, which had backed redistricting, said the vote allowed disloyal Republicans to “stick their finger in the eye of the president of the United States.”
Former Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels praised senators for “courageous principled leadership" in rejecting the new map.
A Republican who has vocally criticized Trump, Daniels said the outcome was “a major black eye for him and all the Washington groups that piled in, spent money, blustered and threatened.” He added that “this thing rubbed our state the wrong way and Republicans in our state very wrong from the jump.”
Inside the state Senate chamber, Democratic lawmakers spoke out against redistricting ahead of the vote.
“Competition is healthy my friends,” Sen. Fady Qaddoura said. “Any political party on earth that cannot run and win based on the merits of its ideas is unworthy of governing.”
In the hallways outside, redistricting opponents chanted “Vote no!” and “Fair maps!” while holding signs with slogans like “Losers cheat.”
Three times over the fall, Vice President JD Vance met with Republican senators — twice in Indianapolis and once in the White House — to urge their support. Trump joined a conference call with senators on Oct. 17 to make his own 15-minute pitch.
Behind the scenes, James Blair, Trump’s deputy White House chief of staff for political affairs, was in regular touch with members, as were other groups supporting the effort such as the Heritage Foundation and Turning Point USA.
“The administration made a full-court press,” said Republican Sen. Andy Zay, who was on the phone with White House aides sometimes multiple times per week, despite his commitment as a yes vote.
Across the country, mid-cycle redistricting so far has resulted in nine more congressional seats that Republicans believe they can win and six more congressional seats that Democrats think they can win. However, some of the new maps are facing litigation.
In Utah, a judge imposed new districts that could allow Democrats to win a seat, saying Republican lawmakers violated voter-backed standards against gerrymandering.
Despite Trump’s push, support for gerrymandering in Indiana’s Senate was uncertain. A dozen of the 50 senators had not publicly committed to a stance ahead of the vote.
Republican Sen. Greg Goode signaled his displeasure with the redistricting plan before voting no. He said some of his constituents objected to seeing their county split up or paired with Indianapolis. He expressed “love” for Trump but criticized what he called “over-the-top pressure” from inside and outside the state.
Sen. Michael Young, another Republican, said the stakes in Washington justify redistricting, as Democrats are only a few seats away from flipping control of the U.S. House in 2026. “I know this election is going to be very close,” he said.
Republican Sen. Mike Gaskill, the redistricting legislation's sponsor, showed Senators maps of congressional districts around the country, including several focused on Democratic-held seats in New England and Illinois. He argued other states gerrymander and Indiana Republicans should play by the same rules.
The bill cleared its first hurdle Monday with a 6-3 Senate committee vote, although one Republican joined Democrats in opposing it and a few others signaled they might vote against the final version. The state House passed the proposal last week, with 12 Republicans siding with Democrats in opposition.
Among them was state Rep. Ed Clere, who said state troopers responded to a hoax message claiming a pipe bomb outside his home Wednesday evening. Indiana state police said “numerous others” received threats but wouldn't offer details about an ongoing investigation.
In an interview, Clere said these threats were the inevitable result of Trump’s pressure campaign and a “winner-take-all mentality.”
“Words have consequences,” Clere said.
Volmert reported from Lansing, Michigan. Beaumont reported from Des Moines, Iowa.
Indiana Lt. Gov. Micah Beckwith awaits the final vote in the results of a vote to redistrict the state's congressional map, Thursday, Dec. 11, 2025, at the Statehouse in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)
Indiana Senate President Pro Tem Rodric Bray takes question after a bill to redistrict the state's congressional map was defeated, Thursday, Dec. 11, 2025, at the Statehouse in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)
Protestors are seen through a window in the Senate Chamber during dissuasion before a vote to redistrict the state's congressional map, Thursday, Dec. 11, 2025, at the Statehouse in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)
A protestor celebrates as they walk outside the Indiana Senate Chamber after a bill to redistrict the state's congressional map was defeated, Thursday, Dec. 11, 2025, at the Statehouse in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)
Indiana Lt. Gov. Micah Beckwith announces the results of a vote to redistrict the state's congressional map, Thursday, Dec. 11, 2025, at the Statehouse in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)
Nancy Kohn, of Indianapolis, hold signs outside the Indiana Senate chamber before a vote to redistrict the state's congressional map at the Statehouse in Indianapolis, Thursday, Dec. 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)
Protestors hold signs outside the Indiana Senate chamber before a vote to redistrict the state's congressional map at the Statehouse in Indianapolis, Thursday, Dec. 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)
