Magnus Hellberg has decided to return to his home country of Sweden next season, signing a contract with Djurgardens IF for the 2025-26 season.

Hellberg was a part of the Texas Stars goaltending duo that went all the way to the Western Conference Final, eventually losing to Abbotsford in six games. Hellberg was a part of the playoffs, splitting starts with Remi Poirier. Poirier re-signed with Texas next season along with Ben Kraws, who are slated to be the duo in the AHL next year.

Hellberg was signed predominantly to be a NHL-caliber backup in case Jake Oettinger suffered an injury like the prior two seasons. Hellberg had good stats at the NHL level with the Pittsburgh Penguins in the prior season and provided some cushion behind Casey DeSmith. As fate would have it, Oettinger did not suffer any major injuries and Hellberg did not have to fill in but for a couple of games as a backup.

It seems a bit surprising that Hellberg would choose to leave the NHL/AHL so closely removed from having decent numbers, but he is 34 and a native of Sweden. He has a young child and might want to move back to his homeland for more than just hockey reasons.

Hellberg finished with a 2.69 GAA and .904 save percentage in 41 games for Texas.

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