Drafted by the Flyers Hedberg was drafted in the ninth round, 218th overall, in the
1994 NHL entry draft by the
Philadelphia Flyers. However the Flyers never invited him from Sweden to a training camp. He was told by the Flyers that he needed to make the
Swedish national team, before getting an invitation to training camp. Hedberg spent five seasons with
Leksands IF from 1992–97, notching a 2.79
goals against average (GAA) in 116 games. and did make the Swedish team, however he never received the invitation promised to him. He then left Sweden, in 1997, to find work in the
North American minor leagues, hoping that a team would notice his abilities. He returned to Leksands for the 1998-99 season before reporting to San Jose's affiliate, the
American Hockey League's Kentucky Thoroughblades He then outdueled
Olaf Kölzig, of the
Washington Capitals, and
Dominik Hašek, of the
Buffalo Sabres, to help the Penguins reach the
Eastern Conference final. Hedberg started one game for Sweden, posting a victory over
Germany.
Atlanta Thrashers in 2010. Hedberg signed a two-year contract with Atlanta in July 2006 and served as the backup for starter
Kari Lehtonen during the first year of that contract. However, a long-term injury hindered Lehtonen during the 2007–08 season and Hedberg took over as Atlanta's starting goaltender for much of the season. On 16 June 2008, Hedberg signed a multi-year contract extension with the Thrashers. During the
2009–10 season, he shared time with
Ondrej Pavelec as the primary starter after Lehtonen missed most of the season and was then traded. Despite Hedberg's good performance he and the Thrashers parted ways after the season. In May 2011, while the Thrashers relocated to
Winnipeg to become the
Winnipeg Jets, Hedberg expressed both regrets for the franchise's relocation and sympathy for the Thrashers fan-base. He stated; "I think it’s sad for the city. I believe this city can support a team and support it in a good way. Obviously, it’s been some chaotic years pretty much from day one with ownership not being on the same page and I think that has hurt the franchise quite a bit...We’ve kind of made this sort of our second home for five years now and, obviously, the Thrashers were the reason we came here in the first place," Hedberg said. "I know all the people involved. I know all the people working in the front office and in hockey operations and I know a lot of the fans around. They’re hard-core fans that really don’t want to lose the team. So, I would have feeling of (sadness). There’s no doubt this could be a good hockey city, but it needs to be done the right way. This ownership has never given it a chance to do that after it got off on the wrong foot." Hedberg's family, which includes his wife and three daughters, still lives in
Atlanta.
New Jersey Devils On 1 July 2010, Hedberg signed a one-year deal with the
New Jersey Devils, which included a no-trade clause. On 2 July 2012, Hedberg signed a two-year deal with the Devils. The contract included a no-trade clause. The signing came hours after New Jersey extended the contract of Brodeur two years as well. Hedberg and Brodeur's age would be 41 and 42 respectively when their individual contracts expired. On 4 July 2013, Hedberg was placed on unconditional waivers for the intentions of a
compliance buyout. The Devils bought him out as a result of a trade that sent
Vancouver Canucks goaltender
Cory Schneider to New Jersey.
New York Rangers Hedberg signed a professional tryout with the
New York Rangers on 10 September 2013, in the absence of backup goaltender
Martin Biron. On 18 September 2013, soon after Biron's return, Hedberg was released from his contract. Hedberg's final professional game was played with the
Albany Devils during the
2013–14 season when he was signed to a professional tryout agreement with the
American Hockey League team, filling in for the injured
Keith Kinkaid. ==Coaching career==