Johan Hedberg

Johan Hedberg
Hedberg during his time with the Devils on November 24, 2010
Born (1973-05-05) 5 May 1973
Nacka, Sweden
Height 6 ft 0 in (183 cm)
Weight 185 lb (84 kg; 13 st 3 lb)
Position Goaltender
Caught Right
Played for Pittsburgh Penguins
Vancouver Canucks
Leksands IF
Dallas Stars
Atlanta Thrashers
New Jersey Devils
NHL draft 218th overall, 1994
Philadelphia Flyers
Playing career 1993–2014

Johan "Moose" Hedberg (born 5 May 1973) is a Swedish former professional ice hockey goaltender. He played parts of 12 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL). He played for the Pittsburgh Penguins, Vancouver Canucks, Dallas Stars, Atlanta Thrashers, and New Jersey Devils. Outside of the NHL, Hedberg played for Leksands IF of the Elitserien.

Career

Before playing in the NHL, Hedberg played parts of five seasons with the Leksands IF of the Elitserien.

He was drafted 218th overall by the Philadelphia Flyers in the 1994 NHL entry draft. The Flyers said that to earn an invitation to their training camp, Hedberg had to make the Swedish national team. Even though he made the team, he still was not invited to the Flyers training camp.[1] He continued his career with Leksands IF and played for them for two more seasons. He headed overseas and signed a contract to play for the Baton Rouge Kingfish of the ECHL. He played two games with the Kingfish. He then signed to play for the Detroit Vipers and Manitoba Moose of the International Hockey League (IHL).

On August 6, 1998, the Flyers traded the rights to Hedberg's contract to the San Jose Sharks in exchange for a 1999 seventh-round draft pick.[2] The Sharks sent him down to play for their AHL-affiliate Kentucky Thoroughblades. After the season, Hedberg decided to rejoin the Manitoba Moose since the Sharks already had lots of goaltender talent at the time.

On March 12, 2001, the Sharks traded Hedberg along with Bobby Dollas to the Pittsburgh Penguins in exchange for Jeff Norton.[3] On March 16, 2001, the Penguins called him up and Hedberg made his NHL debut, stopping 41 of 44 shots he faced in a 6–3 win against the Florida Panthers.[4] He had a successful season with the Penguins. He helped the Penguins during the playoffs. They defeated the Washington Capitals and Buffalo Sabres. They were eventually defeated by the New Jersey Devils four games to one in the Eastern Conference Finals.[5] During Game 3 of the quarterfinals, Hedberg stopped all 34 shots to earn his first playoffs shutout in a 3–0 win against the Washington Capitals.[6] On September 6, 2001, Hedberg signed a multi-year contract to stay with the Penguins.[7]

On 25 August 2003, the Penguins traded Hedberg to the Vancouver Canucks in exchange for a 2004 second-round draft pick.[8] During his season with the Canucks, Hedberg was able to post a career-best 2.51 goals against average. After the NHL entered into a lockout, Hedberg returned to Leksands IF, playing 21 regular season games with them. After the lockout ended, Hedberg returned to the NHL but did not return to the Canucks.

On 5 August 2005, Hedberg signed a one-year contract to join the Dallas Stars.[9] The Stars signed him to be a backup goaltender for Marty Turco. On 26 December 2005, Hedberg achieved a rare feat when he was able to assist on goals from Antti Miettinen and Mike Modano to become the first Stars goaltender to accomplish this and the first NHL goalie since Patrick Roy on 29 December 2000.[10]

On 1 July 2006, Hedberg signed a two-year, $2.175 million contract to join the Atlanta Thrashers.[11] The Thrashers signed him to be the backup goaltender for Kari Lehtonen. Hedberg ended up becoming the starting goaltender after Lehtonen was out with an injury. He played parts of four seasons with the Thrashers.

On 1 July 2010, Hedberg signed a one-year, $1.5 million contract to join the New Jersey Devils. His contract included a no trade clause.[12] The Devils signed him to be the backup goaltender for Martin Brodeur. Hedberg ended up becoming the starting goaltender after Brodeur was out with an injury. On 21 February 2011, he was named the NHL Second Star of the Week and he was also the NHL Third Star of the Month for that month.[13][14] On 1 July 2011, Hedberg signed a one-year, $1.25 million to stay with the Devils.[15] On 2 July 2012, Hedberg signed a two-year, $2.8 million to stay with the Devils.[16] On 4 July 2013, the Devils placed Hedberg on waivers after they bought out the rest of his contract.[17]

Hedberg retired from playing professional ice hockey in 2015.

References

  1. ↑ "Hedberg takes step back in time". National Hockey League. Retrieved April 30, 2026.
  2. ↑ "Goaltender Prospect Johan Hedberg Acquired". San Jose Sharks. Archived from the original on August 14, 2002. Retrieved April 30, 2026.
  3. ↑ "Trading Places - Dollas, Norton return to former teams". Pittsburgh Penguins. Archived from the original on June 26, 2001. Retrieved April 30, 2026.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  4. ↑ "Double Team: A cult hero with the Penguins, Johan Hedberg was reliable with the Thrashers". Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Retrieved April 30, 2026.
  5. ↑ "Seeds of Hurricanes' Stanley Cup success were sown in a summer of uncertainty". The News & Observer. Retrieved January 22, 2026.
  6. ↑ "Stanley Cup Playoffs Penguins shut out Washington, 3-0". Vindy Archives. Retrieved April 30, 2026.
  7. ↑ "The Moose and Marty". Pittsburgh Penguins. Archived from the original on November 23, 2001. Retrieved April 30, 2026.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  8. ↑ "Canucks Acquire Goaltender Johan Hedberg". Vancouver Canucks. Archived from the original on February 5, 2004. Retrieved April 30, 2026.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  9. ↑ "Stars Add Netminder Hedberg". Dallas Stars. Archived from the original on July 4, 2022. Retrieved April 30, 2026.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  10. ↑ "Elias says". ESPN. Retrieved April 30, 2026.
  11. ↑ "Thrashers Agree to Terms with Unrestricted Free Agent Goaltender Johan Hedberg". Atlanta Thrashers. Archived from the original on June 15, 2007. Retrieved April 30, 2026.
  12. ↑ "Devils sign G Johan Hedberg". New Jersey Devils. Archived from the original on July 7, 2010. Retrieved April 30, 2026.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  13. ↑ "Antti Niemi tops NHL's 'Three Stars of the Week'". National Hockey League. Archived from the original on February 22, 2011. Retrieved April 30, 2026.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  14. ↑ "Toews tops February's 'Three Stars of the Month'". National Hockey League. Archived from the original on March 4, 2011. Retrieved April 30, 2026.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  15. ↑ "Devils re-sign G Johan Hedberg". New Jersey Devils. Archived from the original on March 23, 2012. Retrieved April 30, 2026.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  16. ↑ "Devils sign Hedberg to new pact". New Jersey Devils. Archived from the original on October 5, 2013. Retrieved April 30, 2026.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  17. ↑ "Johan Hedberg on unconditional waivers to be bought-out". North Jersey Media Group. Archived from the original on October 23, 2013. Retrieved April 30, 2026.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)

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