The Edmonton Oilers continue taking swings overseas, signing another mid-20s European in the hopes he can be a quick fix in the NHL.
The Oilers are running short on draft picks, and in their current win-now window they don’t have time to wait on those picks, anyway. So the focus is on bringing in bodies who can help right now.
Last year it was Swedish Hockey League scoring champion David Tomasek and German free agent forward Josh Samanski.
Now it’s Finnish right winger Aku Raty, who agreed to a one-year, two-way contract for $850,000.
Tomasek scored two goals in 22 games before heading back to Sweden while Samanski, despite posting just four points in 24 games, is showing promise. He plays with an edge, made the German Olympic team and is firmly in the organization’s plans moving forward.
Raty (six feet tall, 190 pounds) is another low-risk investment with the potential to pay off big. He lead his team in scoring last season and his 57 points in 51 games were seventh in the Finnish Hockey League.
He’s a guy who’s produced everywhere he’s played, which is what you’re looking for. He had 42 points in 53 games as a 20-year-old in the Finnish league three years ago. He had 44 points in 55 games in the his first year in the AHL. And last year he finished seventh in Finnish league in scoring with 57 points in 51 games. There are some gaps in the resume (25 points in 65 AHL games two years ago, leading to his return to Finland), but there are some some legitimate green lights here.
Arizona Coyotes forward Aku Raty skates on the ice for warmups in his first NHL game against the Edmonton Oilers at Mullet Arena on April 17, 2024.
Raty was selected in the fifth round, 151st overall in the 2019 draft by the Arizona Coyotes. He’s only played one NHL game so far, against the Oilers, coincidentally, in April of 2024. He picked up a second-period assist in a 5-2 Arizona win.
The Oilers began this year’s European hunt in late March, signing 21-year-old puck moving Czech defenceman Tomas Cibulka to a two-year entry-level contract.
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