Victor Hedman is a big man. A two-time Stanley Cup winner for the Tampa Bay Lightning, the burly defenseman has built a Hall of Fame career using his size, power, and strategic mind. Standing somewhere around six-foot-eight while wearing skates, and weighing in it about 250 pounds, Hedman is indisputably intimidating on the ice.

But when he got his first taste of the NHL in 2009—long enough ago that his debut came against a now defunct team, the Atlanta Thrashers—other players’ blazing speed was a cause of intimidation for him. Through years of training and now, a late-career decision to ditch gluten, the 35-year-old is still playing well enough to not only be named the Lightning’s captain in 2024, but also to earn a spot on Team Sweden’s roster for the upcoming Olympics. Though nursing an elbow injury that sent him under the knife in December, he is expected to be recovered by the time he arrives in Milan. While there, expect Hedman to utilize his Normatec recovery boots, whatever saunas are available in the Olympic village, and any gym that allows him to hit his beloved leg day. Perhaps the international flight will also allow him to binge Heated Rivalry, which he says has been a point of discussion in the Lightning locker room.

GQ: What do you think are the things that have allowed you to play so long, especially the things that you’ve changed along the way that have really made an impact?

Victor Hedman: First and foremost, to be in this league for this long—injuries is a big reason. I’ve been kind of fortunate, even though I had my bumps and this year has been tough for me injury-wise, but I think that’s been a big key. I think that comes down to the way you train. Obviously, eating habits have gotten better and better as I’ve learned a lot more about it. But I think training and staying in shape for 12 months of the year has helped me a lot. Obviously, a little bit of luck, some great people around me, and some good trust from the organization. There’s a lot of factors, but body-wise, I think it’s come down to the way I train and the way I treat my body.

As a young player, do you remember anyone coming to you and being like, “Hey, Victor, you got to stop doing this? Or start doing this?” Who are the people that helped you with your training and your diet and all that stuff?

It’s changed a lot. I think the diet came a bit later than the training stuff. But going gluten-free, and the lean meats, staying away from the fattier meats, and eating a lot of fish. There’s a lot of things that I’ve learned, and sometimes it’s hard to follow. We travel so much and you don’t really have a say in what you eat on the plane or on the road, but that has changed a lot too. I think people are more cognizant about what they put in their body. That’s changed the most.

I don’t have that clear of a memory, but I think our strength coach here in Tampa has done a phenomenal job. He’s really good with, not just what we do in the gym and in the off season, but the diet as well. He’s giving us some real good ideas.

What were the things that 19-year-old Victor was doing that now at 35 you’re like, “I would never ever do that again.”

So, hockey players, we need to be really good for 50 seconds to a minute. Then you got to recover fast and do it again. Back in the day, coming from Sweden, a lot of focus was on doing exercises for way too long, so to speak. [We were] focusing more on running 3,000 meters or doing 100-meter intervals, whereas now my longest interval I run is 300 meters. It’s 50 meters with a lot of starts and stops, then you recover quick and you do it again. I would say that’s a big thing when it comes to training.

Food-wise, I mean, I probably just kept eating like I did back home. As you get older—and for me, being almost 250 pounds—you can’t put everything in your body. Even with snacks and candy and stuff like that, I’ve been a lot better, because Sweden is famous for their candy! I cut that out pretty quickly.

Were you doing American fast food when you first got to Tampa?

Oh yeah, for sure. Getting food here is so, so easy compared to back home. Where I’m from, a small town with 50,000 people, there’s no food delivery. The fast food is probably way better there than it is over here. But yeah, I’ve had my fair share of McDonald’s, Taco Bell, all that. The only one I probably haven’t tried is KFC. Chick-fil-A, they have a gluten-free bun, so that would be my cheat meal.

I wanted to ask you about the decision to go gluten-free and how that all came about. Was it a medical thing or would you just decide that this would be better for your career?

I did a big blood panel this summer. It goes through everything, especially food sensitivity. You go from green to yellow to red and red is super high intolerance. Wheat was the highest one. It was in the reds. That goes to show—I had a lot of inflammation in my body and that probably comes from eating the pasta, the bread, whatever it is—so I cut down on wheat totally. It feels like the inflammation in my body has gone down. I have more energy. It’s been a big difference and it’s only been…eight months? Gluten stays in your system for a very, very long time. I’m happy to see the longer effect it will have on my body and how I feel.

Did you have any suspicions before doing the blood panel? Did you feel any effects when you were eating bread in the past?

Yeah, more bloated. In the mornings, you’re a little sluggish, foggy, and that comes from the inflammation in your body. That’s where I’ve felt the biggest improvement. I don’t go to the bathroom as often. I don’t feel bloated. Like I said, I have more energy, especially in the morning. You can still be tired, but it’s just a different kind of tired. But 1769530154 as soon as I get out of bed, I have that energy.

That’s a big change to make too, because I’m sure once you cut out gluten, you realize how much stuff has gluten in it.

Exactly. But nowadays, if you’re craving pasta, there’s great alternative, gluten-free pastas. It’s way more rice, quinoa, because quinoa has a lot of really good proteins.

Does this mean no more beer? Were you a beer guy?

I used to be. I’m more of a wine guy anyways. So, it hasn’t been an issue.