Swedish goaltender Johan Hedberg was drafted in the 9th round of the 1994 NHL entry draft by the Philadelphia Flyers. However, when it came time for training camp, he never received an invite. Instead he spent five seasons with the Leksands Stars of the SHL, hoping to make the national team. Eventually he left home for North America in 1997, playing for several minor league teams before the Flyers traded his rights to San Jose in 1998. However, ranking fourth on their depth chart, the undersized Hedberg was relegated to the Sharks minor league system. After the 1999-00 season Hedberg joined the Manitoba Moose, who were an unaffiliated IHL team, and played brilliantly, going 23-13 with a .912 save percentage. His performance caught the attention of the Penguins, who traded for him in March of 2001 and promoted him directly to the NHL.

The story of this jersey begins here, as the Penguins introduced new “Vegas Gold” alternates for the 2000-01 season, wearing two sets for 16 total games, and reintroducing the skating penguin logo. Hedberg wore this alternate jersey for three games against Boston, Carolina, and New Jersey, going 1-1-1 in that span. All the while, his bright blue Manitoba Moose mask with “MOOSE” written across the sides and two cartoon moose adorning the top caught the attention of Pittsburgh fans as he piled up win after win. Stabilizing a shaky goaltending situation with the Penguins, he became the starter, and Moose mania overcame the city. From fans wearing foam antlers to t-shirts reading “The Moose is Loose,” Pittsburgh fans loudly cheered “Mooooooose” as he made saves, which sounded like booing. Facing off against established stars Olaf Kolzig and Dominik Hasek in the first two rounds of the playoffs, the Penguins pulled off two incredible overtime wins in each series to advance, the first by Martin Straka and the second improbably by Darius Kasparaitis. Eventually the Penguins would fall to the suffocating New Jersey Devils in the conference finals, but the legend of Johan Hedberg was etched in stone.

He would play two more seasons for the Pens before the team hit rock bottom, eventually trading him to the Vancouver Canucks during the 2004 draft. But his 2001 performance, and neon blue moose mask, will live on in the hearts and minds of Pittsburgh fans forevermore.