Tuomo Ruutu
Tuomo Ruutu | |
|---|---|
| Born | Tuomo Iisakki Ruutu February 16, 1983 Finland |
| Occupation(s) | Ice hockey player, assistant coach |
| Years active | 1999–2017 (player), 2021–present (coach) |
| Known for | Professional ice hockey forward, assistant coach for Florida Panthers |
Tuomo Iisakki Ruutu (born 16 February 1983) is a retired Finnish professional ice hockey forward who currently serves as an assistant coach for the Florida Panthers in the National Hockey League (NHL). Selected ninth overall in the 2001 NHL Entry Draft by the Chicago Blackhawks, Ruutu spent four seasons with the team before moving on to play for the Carolina Hurricanes and New Jersey Devils. He finished his playing career with HC Davos in Switzerland's National League (NL).
He is the younger sibling of former player Jarkko Ruutu and Mikko Ruutu, who scouts for the Ottawa Senators in Europe.
Playing career
Ruutu launched his professional journey in Finland's SM-liiga with HIFK during the 1999–2000 season. He then spent two seasons at Jokerit before returning to HIFK in 2002. After being chosen ninth overall by Chicago in the 2001 draft, he transitioned to North America in 2003, participating in all 82 games during his rookie NHL season.
During the 2004–05 NHL lockout, Ruutu concentrated on recovering from injuries and contributed as a commentator for Finnish television during the 2005 IIHF World Championship. His 2005–06 campaign was hampered by back and ankle injuries that ultimately required surgical intervention.
Although he contemplated retirement following a disappointing performance at the 2006 World Championship, Ruutu committed to a two-year contract extension worth $3.75 million with Chicago in September 2006.
On 26 February 2008, just before the NHL trade deadline, Chicago traded Ruutu to Carolina in exchange for Andrew Ladd. The Hurricanes initially signed him to a one-year deal worth $2.25 million, later extending his contract on 23 July 2009 with a three-year agreement totaling $11.4 million—structured as $3 million for 2009–10, $4 million for 2010–11, and $4.4 million for 2011–12.
Carolina further secured Ruutu’s services on 22 February 2012 by signing him to a four-year extension valued at $19 million. This contract included a no-trade clause for the first three years and annual salaries of $4 million in the lockout-shortened 2012–13 season and $5 million thereafter.
Shortly before the trade deadline on 5 March 2014, Ruutu was traded to the New Jersey Devils in exchange for center Andrei Loktionov.
During an injury-ridden 2015–16 season, Ruutu recorded a single assist in his final appearance. The Devils opted not to renew his contract when it expired on 1 July 2016. Subsequently, he accepted a professional tryout offer from the Vancouver Canucks on 13 September but was released on 11 October.
On 28 October 2016, HC Davos signed Ruutu as an injury replacement for the remainder of their season. He made his debut on 11 November and scored his first goal that same day during a narrow 3–2 defeat against Genève-Servette HC.
International play
Ruutu represented Finland at the 2004 World Cup of Hockey, where he netted his first goal in the final against Canada. At the 2010 Winter Olympics held in Vancouver, he earned a bronze medal and followed this achievement with a gold medal at the 2011 IIHF World Championship. Over his international career, he collected medals across eleven major tournaments.
At the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Ruutu contributed an assist as Finland defeated the United States 5–0 to claim bronze. He also participated in the 2015 IIHF World Championship, where Finland exited in the quarterfinals after losing to the Czech Republic. This marked only his second international tournament without securing a medal.
Regular season and playoffs
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1999–2000 | HIFK | FIN U18 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 12 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 | ||
| 1999–2000 | HIFK | FIN U20 | 35 | 11 | 16 | 27 | 32 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | ||
| 1999–2000 | HIFK | SM-l | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2000–01 | Jokerit | FIN U20 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2000–01 | Jokerit | SM-l | 47 | 11 | 11 | 22 | 94 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | ||
| 2001–02 | Jokerit | SM-l | 51 | 7 | 16 | 23 | 69 | 10 | 0 | 6 | 6 | 29 | ||
| 2002–03 | HIFK | SM-l | 30 | 12 | 15 | 27 | 24 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2003–04 | Chicago Blackhawks | NHL | 82 | 23 | 21 | 44 | 58 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
|
Chicago Blackhawks | NHL | 15 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 31 | — | — | — | — | — |- |
Chicago Blackhawks | NHL | 71 | 17 | 21 | 38 | 95 | — | — | — | — | — |- |
Chicago Blackhawks | NHL | 60 | 6 | 15 | 21 | 75 | — | — | — | — | — |- bgcolor="#f0f0f0" |
2007–08 |Carolina Hurricanes |NHL |17 |4 |7 |11 |16 |— |— |— |— |— |- |
Carolina Hurricanes | NHL | 79 | 26 | 28 | 54 | 79 | 16 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 8 |- bgcolor="#f0f0f0" |
Carolina Hurricanes | NHL | 54 | 14 | 21 | 35 | 50 | — | — | — | — | — |- |
Carolina Hurricanes | NHL | 82 | 19 | 38 | 57 | 54 | — | — | — | — | — |- bgcolor="#f0f0f0" |
Carolina Hurricanes |NHL |72 |18 |16 |34 |50 |— |— |— |— |— |- |
Carolina Hurricanes |NHL |17 |4 |5 |9 |8 |— |— |— |— |— |- bgcolor="#f0f0f0" |
Carolina Hurricanes |NHL |57 |5 |11 |16 |34 |— |— |— |— |— |- |
2013–14 |New Jersey Devils |NHL |19 |3 |5 |8 |10 |- - - |- |- - - |- |- - - |- |- - - |- |- - - |- |- - - |- |- - - |- |- - - |- |- - - |- |- - - |- |- - - |- | |||||||||
|
New Jersey Devils | NHL | 77 | 7 | 6 | 13 | 28 | — | — | — | — | — | |||||||||||||||||||
|
New Jersey Devils | NHL | 33 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 8 | — |
— |
— |
— |
— | |||||||||||||||
|
26 |
5 |
7 |
12 |
22 |
6 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
2 | ||||||||||
|
SM-l totals |
129 |
30 |
42 |
72 |
181 |
15 |
0 |
6 |
6 |
33 | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
NHL totals |
735 |
148 |
198 |
346 |
596 |
16 |
1 |
3 |
4 |
8 | |||||||||
International
| Year | Team | Event | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Finland | WJC18 | 7 | 6 | 2 | 8 | 0 | |
| 2001 | Finland | WJC | 7 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 4 | |
| 2002 | Finland | WJC | 7 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 10 | |
| 2003 | Finland | WJC | 7 | 2 | 8 | 10 | 6 | |
| 2004 | Finland | WCH | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | |
| 2006 | Finland | WC | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 49 | |
| 2007 | Finland | WC | 8 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 20 | |
| 2008 | Finland | WC | 9 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 8 | |
| 2010 | Finland | OG | 6 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | |
| 2011 | Finland | WC | 9 | 6 | 0 | 6 | 8 | |
| 2014 | Finland | OG | 6 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 2 | |
| 2015 | Finland | WC | 8 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | |
| Junior totals | 28 | 13 | 14 | 27 | 20 | |||
| Senior totals | 61 | 17 | 12 | 29 | 97 | |||
Coaching career
On June 29, 2021, Ruutu was appointed as an assistant coach for the Florida Panthers. He played a role in guiding the Panthers to Stanley Cup championships in back-to-back NHL seasons, specifically in the years spanning from 2023–24 to 2024–25. Prior to his tenure with Florida, Ruutu served for two years as Assistant Director of Player Development with the New York Rangers.