Johan Hedberg
Johan Hedberg | |
|---|---|
| Born | Johan Hedberg May 5, 1973 Leksand, Sweden |
| Occupation(s) | Ice hockey goaltender (retired), coach, scout |
| Years active | 1993–2014 (player), post-2014 (coach) |
| Known for | NHL goaltender for Pittsburgh Penguins, Vancouver Canucks, Dallas Stars, Atlanta Thrashers, New Jersey Devils; Swedish national team member |
Johan "Moose" Hedberg (born May 5, 1973) is a retired Swedish professional ice hockey goaltender. His playing career extended from 1993 until 2014, featuring NHL tenures with the Pittsburgh Penguins, Vancouver Canucks, Dallas Stars, Atlanta Thrashers, and New Jersey Devils. Additionally, he competed for Leksands IF in Sweden's top league, the Elitserien, along with various minor league teams. After spending several years in Sweden, Hedberg transitioned to North American hockey in 1997 and made his NHL debut in 2000. On the international stage, he represented the Sweden men's national ice hockey team at numerous events, including the 2002 Winter Olympics and multiple ice hockey world championships, winning gold at the 1998 World Championship.
Drafted by the Flyers
In the ninth round of the 1994 NHL Entry Draft, Hedberg was chosen 218th overall by the Philadelphia Flyers. Despite this selection, he never received an invitation to their training camp because the Flyers required him to first secure a spot on the Swedish national team. Over five seasons with Leksands IF (1992–97), he maintained a 2.79 goals against average (GAA) across 116 games and eventually joined the national squad; however, this still did not lead to a camp invitation. In 1997, Hedberg relocated to North America to compete in minor leagues aiming to attract NHL interest.
He started his North American career with the Baton Rouge Kingfish of the East Coast Hockey League, followed by stints with the Detroit Vipers and Manitoba Moose in the International Hockey League. In 1998, his rights were traded by the Flyers to the San Jose Sharks. Hedberg briefly returned to Leksands for the 1998-99 season before joining San Jose’s American Hockey League affiliate, the Kentucky Thoroughblades, for 1999-2000.
Manitoba Moose
With San Jose possessing a deep pool of young goaltenders, Hedberg was ranked no higher than fourth on their depth chart. After one season, he departed from the Sharks organization and re-signed with Manitoba. During the Moose’s final season in the International Hockey League as an independent club in 2000–01, Hedberg delivered outstanding performances that drew attention from Pittsburgh Penguins assistant general manager Eddie Johnston. In March 2001, Randy Carlyle, coach of Manitoba Moose, informed Hedberg at Winnipeg International Airport that he had been traded to Pittsburgh along with Bobby Dollas in exchange for Jeff Norton and would be reporting directly to the Penguins.
Pittsburgh Penguins and the Olympics
Hedberg provided stability to Pittsburgh’s goaltending for the remainder of the 2000–01 campaign. Called upon unexpectedly to start a game while still wearing his personalized Manitoba Moose helmet, fans affectionately dubbed him "Moose" and enthusiastically celebrated his saves. He played a key role in helping the Penguins advance to the Eastern Conference final by outperforming goalies Olaf Kölzig and Dominik Hašek. In 2002, Hedberg achieved personal bests with 25 wins and set a franchise record by appearing in 66 games for Pittsburgh. During the 2002 Winter Olympics, he served as backup goalie behind Tommy Salo for Sweden’s national team, starting one match and earning a victory over Germany.
Vancouver, the Lockout, and Dallas
Pittsburgh sent Hedberg to the Vancouver Canucks in exchange for a second-round selection in the 2004 NHL Entry Draft, which was later used to pick Alex Goligoski. During the 2003–04 season with Vancouver, Hedberg achieved a personal best goals-against average (GAA) of 2.51 across 21 appearances. When the 2004–05 NHL season was canceled due to the lockout, he competed for Leksands IF in Sweden’s Second Division, where he posted a 2.12 GAA over 21 games. Following the lockout, Hedberg signed with the Dallas Stars as a free agent on August 5, 2005, compiling a 12-4-1 record and a 2.67 GAA in 19 outings. Notably, on December 26, 2005, he became the first Dallas goalie to register two assists in a single contest against the St. Louis Blues and was the first NHL netminder since Patrick Roy in 2000 to do so—demonstrating his skill as a playmaker with a crucial assist to captain Mike Modano.
Atlanta Thrashers
In July 2006, Hedberg inked a two-year contract with Atlanta, initially backing up starting goalie Kari Lehtonen. When Lehtonen suffered a long-term injury during the 2007–08 campaign, Hedberg stepped up as the primary goaltender. On June 16, 2008, he secured a multi-year contract extension with the Thrashers. Throughout the 2009–10 season, Hedberg shared starting responsibilities with Ondrej Pavelec after Lehtonen missed most of the year and was subsequently traded. Despite delivering reliable performances, Hedberg and Atlanta mutually parted ways following that season.
When the Thrashers relocated to Winnipeg in May 2011 to become the Winnipeg Jets, Hedberg expressed disappointment about the franchise’s move and empathy for its supporters. He attributed the relocation to ownership challenges that impeded sustained success and stressed that Atlanta held promise as a hockey market if properly managed.
Hedberg’s immediate family—including his wife and three daughters—continued residing in Atlanta.
New Jersey Devils
On July 1, 2010, Hedberg agreed to a one-year contract with the New Jersey Devils, which included a no-trade clause. He served as backup until starter Martin Brodeur sustained an injury on February 6. His contract was renewed on July 1, 2011, again featuring a no-trade provision. During the 2012 Stanley Cup Playoffs, Hedberg saw ice time during two periods in the first-round series against the Florida Panthers.
On July 2, 2012, Hedberg signed a two-year deal with New Jersey that contained another no-trade clause, shortly after Brodeur extended his own contract. Both veteran goaltenders were slated to be aged 41 and 42 respectively when these contracts concluded.
Following New Jersey’s acquisition of Vancouver Canucks goalie Cory Schneider, Hedberg was placed on unconditional waivers for a compliance buyout on July 4, 2013.
New York Rangers
Hedberg joined the New York Rangers on a professional tryout contract beginning September 10, 2013, temporarily replacing backup goaltender Martin Biron. Once Biron returned to health, Hedberg was released on September 18, 2013. His final professional appearance came with the Albany Devils during the 2013–14 AHL season, where he signed a tryout contract to provide cover for injured netminder Keith Kinkaid.
Coaching career
After retiring from playing professionally, Hedberg rejoined the Devils organization as a special assignment scout and goaltending coach for their AHL affiliate Albany Devils. On July 2, 2015, he followed head coach Peter DeBoer to take on the role of goaltending coach with the San Jose Sharks, maintaining this position until DeBoer’s coaching staff was relieved of duties on December 11, 2019.
Regular season and playoffs
... [Statistics table continues similarly] ...| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | W | L | T | OT | MIN | GA | SO | GAA | SV% | GP | W | L | MIN | GA | SO | GAA | SV% | ||
| 1989–90 | Leksands IF | SWE U20 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1990–91 | Leksands IF | SWE-U20 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1991–92 | Leksands IF | SWE2-U20 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1992–93 | Leksands IF | SEL | 10 | — | — | — | — | 600 | 24 | — | 2.40 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| 1993–94 | Leksands IF | SEL | 17 | — | — | — | — | 1020 | 48 | — | 2.82 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1994–95 | Leksands IF | SEL | 17 | — | — | — | — | 986 | 58 | — | 3.53 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1995–96 | Leksands IF | SEL | 34 | — | — | — | — | 2013 | 95 | — | 2.83 | — | 4 | — | — | 240 | 13 | — | 3.25 | |||
| 1996–97 | Leksands IF | SEL | 38 | — | — | — | 2260 | 95 | 3 | 2.52 | — | 8 | — | — | 581 | 18 | 1 | 1.86 | — | |||
| NHL totals | 373 | 161 | 143 | 14 | 22 | 20,759 | 977 | 22 | 2.82 | .901 | 23 | 10 | 13 | 1375 | 53 | 2 | 2.31 | .914 | ||||
International
| Year | Team | Event | GP | W | L | T | MIN | GA | SO | GAA | SV% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | Sweden | WC | DNP | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| 1996 | Sweden | WCH | DNP | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| 1997 | Sweden | WC | 1 | 60 | 1 | 0 | 1.00 | .938 | ||||
| 1998 | Sweden | OG | DNP | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
- | |
| Sweden | WC | 1 | 0 | 0 | 60 | 2 | 0 | 2.00 | .867 | ||||||||||
| Sweden | WC | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 1.000 | ||||||||||
| Sweden | OG | 1 | 0 | 0 |60 |1 |0 |1.00 | .950 | ||||||||||
| Senior totals | 4 | — | — | — | 181 | 4 | 0 | 1.33 | — | |||
External links
- Pages with script errors
- Articles with short description
- Articles with hCards
- No local image but image on Wikidata
- 1973 births
- Albany Devils players
- Atlanta Thrashers players
- Baton Rouge Kingfish players
- Dallas Stars players
- Detroit Vipers players
- Ice hockey players at the 2002 Winter Olympics
- Kentucky Thoroughblades players
- Leksands IF players
- Living people
- Manitoba Moose players
- Manitoba Moose (IHL) players
- New Jersey Devils coaches
- New Jersey Devils players
- Olympic ice hockey players for Sweden
- Sportspeople from Leksand Municipality
- Philadelphia Flyers draft picks
- Pittsburgh Penguins players
- San Jose Sharks coaches
- Swedish expatriate ice hockey players in Canada
- Swedish expatriate ice hockey players in the United States
- Swedish ice hockey goaltenders
- Vancouver Canucks players
- Ice hockey people from Dalarna County