1. Early Life and Background
Tuomo Ruutu was born on 16 February 1983. He comes from a family deeply involved in ice hockey. His older brother, Jarkko Ruutu, is also a former professional ice hockey player who competed in the NHL. Another brother, Mikko Ruutu, is a European scout for the Ottawa Senators.
2. Playing Career
Tuomo Ruutu's professional ice hockey career spanned multiple leagues, beginning in Finland before moving to North America's National Hockey League and concluding in Switzerland.
2.1. Finnish League Career
Ruutu began his professional career in Finland's top league, the SM-liiga. He started with HIFK during the 1999-2000 season, where he also played in the FIN U18 and FIN U20 junior leagues. For the following two seasons (2000-01 and 2001-02), he played for Jokerit in the SM-liiga and FIN U20. He returned to HIFK for one more season in 2002-03 before moving to North America.
2.2. North American Professional Career (NHL)
Ruutu spent the majority of his playing career in the National Hockey League, playing for three different franchises.
2.2.1. Chicago Blackhawks
Ruutu was drafted by the Chicago Blackhawks as their first-round pick, ninth overall, in the 2001 NHL Entry Draft. He moved to North America in 2003 and made his NHL debut in the 2003-04 NHL season, playing all 82 games for the Blackhawks. The 2004-05 NHL lockout saw Ruutu take a hiatus from playing to recover from injuries; during this time, he provided commentary on Finnish television for the 2005 IIHF World Championship. His 2005-06 NHL season was significantly impacted by injuries, first a back injury and then an ankle injury in January that required season-ending surgery. Following an unimpressive performance at the 2006 IIHF World Championship, Ruutu considered retirement, but ultimately signed a two-year contract extension with Chicago worth 3.75 M USD on 13 September 2006. During the 2007-08 NHL season, on 26 February 2008, he was traded to the Carolina Hurricanes at the NHL trade deadline.
2.2.2. Carolina Hurricanes
Upon his trade to the Carolina Hurricanes in exchange for Andrew Ladd, Ruutu promptly signed a one-year contract valued at 2.25 M USD. On 23 July 2009, the Hurricanes extended his contract with a three-year, 11.40 M USD deal, which included payments of 3.00 M USD in 2009-10, 4.00 M USD in 2010-11, and 4.40 M USD in 2011-12. He further extended his tenure with the Hurricanes on 22 February 2012, signing a four-year, 19.00 M USD contract. This agreement paid him 4.00 M USD in the 2012-13 NHL season and 5.00 M USD annually for the remaining years, also including a no-trade clause for the first three years. Hours before the NHL trade deadline on 5 March 2014, Ruutu was traded to the New Jersey Devils.
2.2.3. New Jersey Devils
Ruutu joined the New Jersey Devils in a trade that sent centre Andrei Loktionov to the Hurricanes. In the 2015-16 NHL season, Ruutu struggled with injuries and recorded only one assist in his final game of the season. After his contract expired, he became an unrestricted free agent on 1 July 2016 and was not re-signed by the Devils. Following a summer without a team, Ruutu agreed to a professional tryout (PTO) with the Vancouver Canucks on 13 September 2016, but was released from his PTO contract by Canucks general manager Jim Benning on 11 October 2016.
2.3. Swiss League Career
On 28 October 2016, Ruutu signed with HC Davos for the remainder of the 2016-17 NLA season in Switzerland, serving as a replacement for the injured Daniel Rahimi. He made his NLA debut on 11 November 2016 and scored his first goal for the team on the same day in a 3-2 loss against Genève-Servette HC in Geneva.
3. International Play
Tuomo Ruutu proudly represented Finland in numerous major international ice hockey tournaments throughout his career, achieving significant medal success at both junior and senior levels.
3.1. Junior International Tournaments
Ruutu's international career began with strong performances at junior tournaments. He won a gold medal with Finland at the 2000 IIHF World U18 Championships. He also earned three medals at the World Junior Ice Hockey Championships: a silver medal in 2001 and bronze medals in 2002 and 2003.
3.2. Senior International Tournaments
At the senior level, Ruutu was a consistent presence for the Finnish national team. He participated in the 2004 World Cup of Hockey, where Finland won a silver medal, and Ruutu scored his first goal for the Finns in the final against Canada. He won two bronze medals at the Olympic Games, first at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver and again at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, where he recorded an assist in Finland's 5-0 victory over the United States in the bronze medal game.
Ruutu also competed in multiple IIHF World Championships. He earned bronze medals in 2006 and 2008, and a silver medal in 2007. A highlight of his international career was winning a gold medal at the 2011 IIHF World Championship. He played for Finland again at the 2015 IIHF World Championship, where the team was eliminated in the quarterfinals by the Czech Republic, marking one of the few major international tournaments where he did not win a medal. Overall, Ruutu earned a medal in 10 of the 11 major international tournaments he competed in.
3.3. Medal Record
| Competition | Medal | Year |
|---|---|---|
| Olympic Games | Bronze | 2010 Vancouver |
| Olympic Games | Bronze | 2014 Sochi |
| World Championships | Gold | 2011 Slovakia |
| World Championships | Silver | 2007 Russia |
| World Championships | Bronze | 2006 Latvia |
| World Championships | Bronze | 2008 Canada |
| World Junior Championships | Silver | 2001 Russia |
| World Junior Championships | Bronze | 2002 Czech Republic |
| World Junior Championships | Bronze | 2003 Canada |
| World U18 Championships | Gold | 2000 Switzerland |
| World Cup | Silver | 2004 Canada |
4. Career Statistics
Tuomo Ruutu's career statistics reflect his performance in both regular season and playoff games across various leagues, as well as his contributions in international tournaments.
4.1. 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 | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2005-06 | Chicago Blackhawks | NHL | 15 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 31 | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2006-07 | Chicago Blackhawks | NHL | 71 | 17 | 21 | 38 | 95 | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2007-08 | Chicago Blackhawks | NHL | 60 | 6 | 15 | 21 | 75 | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2007-08 | Carolina Hurricanes | NHL | 17 | 4 | 7 | 11 | 16 | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2008-09 | Carolina Hurricanes | NHL | 79 | 26 | 28 | 54 | 79 | 16 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 8 | ||
| 2009-10 | Carolina Hurricanes | NHL | 54 | 14 | 21 | 35 | 50 | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2010-11 | Carolina Hurricanes | NHL | 82 | 19 | 38 | 57 | 54 | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2011-12 | Carolina Hurricanes | NHL | 72 | 18 | 16 | 34 | 50 | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2012-13 | Carolina Hurricanes | NHL | 17 | 4 | 5 | 9 | 8 | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2013-14 | Carolina Hurricanes | NHL | 57 | 5 | 11 | 16 | 34 | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2013-14 | New Jersey Devils | NHL | 19 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 10 | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2014-15 | New Jersey Devils | NHL | 77 | 7 | 6 | 13 | 28 | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2015-16 | New Jersey Devils | NHL | 33 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 8 | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2016-17 | HC Davos | NLA | 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 | ||||
4.2. International Statistics
| 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 | ||
5. Coaching Career
After retiring as a player, Tuomo Ruutu transitioned into a coaching role. He spent two years as the Assistant Director of Player Development with the New York Rangers. On 29 June 2021, Ruutu was hired as an assistant coach for the Florida Panthers. He was part of the coaching staff when the Panthers won the Stanley Cup during the 2023-24 NHL season.