A few hours ago, the Detroit Red Wings announced that they’ve re-signed pending restricted free agent defenseman Antti Tuomisto to a one-year contract. Detroit has yet to share Tuomisto’s salary for the 2025-26 season, but it’ll likely be a $775K, league minimum deal.
It wasn’t all that long ago that Tuomisto was regarded as one of the better prospects in the Red Wings’ pipeline. Detroit drafted the Pori, Finland native with the 35th overall selection of the 2019 NHL Draft from Ässät U20 of the U20 SM-liiga. One year after being drafted, Tuomisto scored 15 goals and 49 points in 48 games for the same team with a +18 rating.
The noise he created overseas earned him some recruitment offers from the NCAA, and he eventually committed to the University of Denver for the 2020-21 season. Unfortunately, injuries and limited ice time led to a disappointing college experience. Despite winning the National Championship with the Pioneers in the 2021-22 NCAA season, Tuomisto finished his collegiate career with eight goals and 44 points in 117 games with a +6 rating.
Leaving after his sophomore year, Tuomisto returned home to Finland, this time with the Liiga’s TPS. He rebounded well, scoring five goals and 20 points in 60 games with a -6 rating. Feeling he had turned a corner after spending another year in Finland, the Red Wings signed Tuomisto to a two-year entry-level contract after his season concluded.
His first year with the team’s AHL affiliate, the Grand Rapids Griffins, wasn’t nearly as poor as his time in the NCAA, but Detroit was likely hoping for more. He scored five goals and 17 points in 50 games, and even spent some time with the organization’s ECHL affiliate, the Toledo Walleye. In Tuomisto’s defense, the Griffins were a relatively low-scoring team during the 2023-24 campaign and didn’t generate much offense from the blue line.
Fortunately, he took multiple steps in the right direction this past season. Leading the team’s defense in scoring, Tuomisto finished the 2024-25 campaign with three goals and 27 points in 67 games. Still, if Tuomisto expects to make the jump to the NHL anytime soon, he’ll want to increase his scoring efficiency.
In the NHL, defensemen typically have a shooting percentage ranging from 4% to 7%, though some may fall outside this range. Given that Tuomisto finished the 2024-25 AHL season with a 2.8% shooting percentage, that won’t be enough to cut it at the top level if he continues shooting at such a high volume. The Red Wings are expected to have some turnover on their blue line this summer, but it remains to be seen if Tuomisto will be a part of that transition.
Stevie Y getting his ass kicked in free agency and trades. Very surprising when you have to start making the playoffs after missing out for 6 years