Victor and Sanna Hedman pledge $150,000 to Hurricane Helene relief

TAMPA — Lightning captain Victor Hedman has made Tampa his second home, and the star defenseman has long been active in the community. So, during a desperate time of need following Hurricane Helene, Hedman and his wife, Sanna, have pledged to donate $150,000 to those affected by the storm.

The Hedmans' donations will be split among the Tampa Police Benevolent Association and Coast Guard Foundation.

The other Lightning players combined to donate $10,000 to Rebuilding Together Tampa Bay. That is on top of the $2 million donated to hurricane relief by the team through the Lightning Foundation .

Hedman, named the Lightning's 11th captain on Sept. 18, will visit the Tampa Police Department headquarters and U.S. Coast Guard Air Station in Clearwater Tuesday as part of the organization's "Community Kickoff Day."

Lightning players will visit six locations around the area to volunteer and connect with first responders, young students, military members and others.

Hedman has a long relationship with the Humane Society of Tampa Bay, recently donating 1,000 bags of dog food to coincide with his 1,000th career NHL game last season. He also is an ambassador for NOSOLO, a company that works to raise mental health awareness.

Injury update Forward Mikey Eyssimont, who has missed all of training camp recovering from a lower-body injury , returned to practice Monday. He skated with the Lightning's non-game group, wearing a red no-contact jersey.

Eyssimont isn't expected to be ready in time for opening night Oct. 11 at Carolina, but a mid-October return is anticipated.

Fourth-line center Luke Glendening continues to practice in a red jersey. Head coach Jon Cooper said it's possible he will be ready for the opener.

"In the end, if Glendening had his way, he'd be playing (Monday)," Cooper said before the preseason game at Florida. "But I'd say he's going to be close, like a great-case scenario would be getting to play opening night. But we can't sit here (Monday) and say that for sure, but he's definitely close."

Center Logan Brown, who had been pushing to make the roster on a professional tryout , has been sidelined indefinitely with an undisclosed injury.

Doechii to perform at home opener Breakout hip-hop artist Doechii will perform a free concert on Thunder Alley outside Amalie Arena before the Lightning's home opener on Oct. 12, highlighting the team's pregame "GAME ONe Opening Day 2024′′ festivities.

A Tampa native who attended Blake High School, Doechii will perform at 4:45 p.m., following the blue carpet walk and player arrivals at 3:45. Recording artist Kevin Smiley will perform at 5:30.

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