Finnish winger Aku Räty, 23, has signed a two-year contract with his hometown team Kärpät Oulu, the Liiga club announced on Tuesday.

Räty had spent the past two seasons in North America in the systems of the Arizona Coyotes, Utah HC and Chicago Blackhawks.

“Expectations for next season are high,” said Räty. “The team is really good, and with a championship-winning coach on top of that. I hope that as a leading player I can help the team return Kärpät to where it belongs – at the top of the league.”

“It’s great to have Aku back in Oulu,” said club sports director Kimmo Kapanen. “He is a versatile player, grew up with Kärpät and knows what it means to play for this club. We believe he will be a significant part of next season’s team.”

Räty was drafted in the fifth round, 151st overall, by Arizona in the 2018 NHL Entry Draft. He played with Kärpät, then one season with Ilves Tampere before heading to North America in 2023.

Räty played one NHL game for the Coyotes in 2023-24 but otherwise spent the past two seasons in the AHL with the Tucson Roadrunners and Rockford IceHogs. On the 2025 trade deadline, Räty’s rights were moved from Utah to Chicago along with the rights to defensemen Victor Söderström – who was playing in Sweden at the time – and Shea Weber – who hadn’t played since 2021 and was unofficially retired – in exchange for a fifth-round draft pick in 2026.

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Räty’s younger brother Aatu is a center for the Vancouver Canucks.

Kärpät had high expectations for last season but missed the playoffs, causing the club maangement to issue an apology to the fans.

Keeping the puck out of the Kärpät net was a particular issue for the team, and during the course of the season the team acquired, among others, defensemen Dominik Mašin, Marcus Björk and Ville Pokka and goaltender Damian Clara, with limited success. As the transfer deadline approached, native son Jesse Puljuärvi was rumored to be headed there after securing his release from the Pittsburgh Penguins, but he instead signed with the Carolina Hurricanes.

The payroll for 2025-26 seems lower so far – Räty’s one game represents the only NHL experience on the team so far – but the club does have prospects Viljami Marjala (Buffalo Sabres), Janne Peltonen (Chicago) and Visa Vedenpää (Seattle Kraken) under contract.

After Disappointing Season, Kärpät Management Addresses Fans: 'The On-Ice Goal Was Far From Achieved' A perennial powerhouse and seven-time champion in Finland since being promoted to the top-tier Liiga in 2000, this past season was bitterly disappointing for Kärpät Oulu. Despite the high hopes and a high payroll, the team finished 13th in the 16-team league, missing the post-season for the first time since the turn of the Millenium.