After just seeing his last NHL contract terminated in 2021, Joona Luoto is back. The young forward has signed a one-year, two-way contract with the Columbus Blue Jackets. The contract carries a $750K salary in the NHL and a $300K salary in the AHL, according to Brian Hedger of the Columbus Dispatch.
Luoto, 24, played 16 games for the Winnipeg Jets in 2019-20 but was limited to minor league work the following season and then ended up terminating his entry-level deal in September after it was clear he wouldn’t be making the squad. That led him back to Finland, where he played for his hometown Tappara Tampere and showed exactly why he was an interesting undrafted signing in the first place.
In 14 playoff games, Luoto scored eight goals and 17 points, winning the Jarri Kurri award as the best postseason player. His club won the league championship (his second Liiga title), and now he’s joining a new NHL organization with obvious ties to Finland. Not only does general manager Jarmo Kekalainen hail from there but Tampere is also the hometown of Blue Jackets star Patrik Laine. In fact, the two played for years together at the minor and junior levels.
Whether he makes an impact at the NHL level next season remains to be seen, but Luoto will at least get another chance on this side of the pond. If he scores even a single point, he will have eclipsed his time in Winnipeg; he was held scoreless in all 16 appearances so far.