Tuomo Ruutu

Tuomo Ruutu (born Tuomo Iisakki Ruutu on February 16, 1983) is a Finnish professional ice hockey forward who plays for the Carolina Hurricanes of the National Hockey League.

Tuomo is the younger brother of Jarkko Ruutu (a former NHL player currently playing for Jokerit) and retired player Mikko Ruutu.

Playing Career
Tuomo started out playing for HIFK in the Finnish SM-liiga in the 1999–00 season and he moved to Jokerit for the next two seasons.

In 2002, Tuomo returned to HIFK for one more season. He was drafted by the Chicago Blackhawks in the 2001 NHL Entry Draft as their first-round pick, #9 overall. He crossed the Atlantic in 2003, playing a full 82 games with the Blackhawks in the 2003–04 NHL season.

Tuomo did not play during the NHL lockout because he was recovering from injuries, but he provided commentary on Finnish television during the ice hockey world championships along with fellow NHL player Ville Nieminen.

Tuomo returned to the NHL after the lockout, but his 2005–06 NHL season was cut short; first by a back injury that kept him out of the game for most of the fall, and in January, an ankle injury requiring surgery ended his season.

Tuomo represented Finland at the 2004 World Cup of Hockey and scored his first goal with Team Finland in the final against Canada.

After an unimpressive showing at the 2006 World Championships, Tuomo said that he might retire, but that was put to rest when he signed a two year, $3.75 million contract on September 13th.

During the 2007-08 season on February 26, 2008 (at the trade deadline), the Chicago Blackhawks traded Tuomo to the Carolina Hurricanes for Andrew Ladd. The Hurricanes promptly signed him to a one-year contract worth $2.25 million.

On July 23, 2009, the Hurricanes signed Tuomo to a three-year contract worth $11.4 million ($3 million in 2009-10, $4 million in 2010-11, $4.4 million in 2011-12).

On February 22, 2012, the Hurricanes signed Tuomo to a four-year contract extension worth $19 million. The deal will pay him $4 million in 2012-13 and $5 million per year in the remaining years and it includes a no-trade clause for the first three years of the contract.

International Play
In the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver, Tuomo won the Bronze medal with Team Finland. In 2011, he won a World Championship Gold medal.