Red Wings sign Antti Tuomisto to one-year contract extension

The Detroit Red Wings announced on Thursday that the team has agreed to terms on a one-year contract extension with Antti Tuomisto.

Tuomisto, a 24-year-old Finnish defenseman, was the team’s second round pick in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft at No. 35 overall.

Since being drafted, he has spent time in the U20 SM-liiga with Assat before moving to North America and playing at the NCAA level with the University of Denver for two years.

Tuomisto then went back to Finland to play for TPS in Liiga, where he put up 20 points in 60 regular season games.

He then signed with the Red Wings ahead of the 2023-2024 campaign, and he’s appeared in 117 contests with the Grand Rapids Griffins over the last two years, racking up 8 goals and 36 assists for 44 points to go with a plus-6 rating.

Tuomisto was a member of an impressive defense unit with the Griffins this past season that also featured prospects like Axel Sandin-Pellikka, Shai Buium, Anton Johansson and William Wallinder.

The team finished third place in the AHL’s Central Division with a record of 37-29-4-2. The Griffins made the Calder Cup playoffs, but lost to the Texas Stars in the division semifinals.

The Red Wings currently have just five defensemen signed to NHL contracts for next season, and only Moritz Seider is signed beyond the 2025-2026 season.

General manager Steve Yzerman has about $21 million in salary cap space according to Puckpedia to use in his bid to assemble a roster that can bring the Stanley Cup Playoffs back to the Motor City for the first time since the 2015-2016 campaign, when Yzerman’s Tampa Bay Lightning ousted the Wings in the first round.

Detroit finished five points behind the Montreal Canadiens for the last playoff spot in the Eastern Conference and wound up with a record of 39-35-8.