Victor Hedman now holds an incredibly obscure NHL record that will likely never be repeated

A goal in each of the 12 calendar months? No problem for Victor Hedman.

The Tampa Bay Lightning are well on their way to cruising to back-to-back Stanley Cup Final wins. Everything’s been clicking for Tampa Bay against the Montreal Canadiens in this series, from goal scoring to goaltending. Not only that, star defenseman Victor Hedman also broke quite an obscure record during Friday’s Game 3.

In the early goings of the first period, with the Lightning up 1-0 on the Canadiens, Hedman doubled Tampa Bay’s lead with a power play tally less than four minutes into the game. It was a blast from the top of the zone that Canadiens goaltender Carey Price just missed, but it’s also a historic goal in NHL history.

Why? Because with that tally, Hedman has now become the first NHL player to score a goal in each of the 12 calendar months.

Yes, you heard that right. It seems strange at first glance, but considering hockey is a sport that — in a normal year — would run from October to June, Hedman’s goal in July is quite a feat. Add in the 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs that ran in August to September due to the pandemic, which the Lightning played all the way through, and it makes even more sense.

Not only that, just moments earlier, Lightning defenseman Jan Rutta became the first player in NHL history to score a goal in the month of July.

Given that the NHL will be returning to its regular schedule in the fall, it’s highly unlikely Hedman’s record will be broken unless the league has to shift games into the summer again. Quite the rare and unusual accomplishment, as not even Wayne Gretzky himself could come close to this mark.

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