Tuomo Ruutu will continue in the Florida Panthers coaching team next season.
Tuomo Ruutu has worked for two seasons in the Florida Panthers coaching team. In his playing career, the man played 735 NHL regular season games. TIMO KUNNARI
- Tuomo Ruutu experienced the Stanley Cup finals as a coach.
- The man hopes the Panthers’ success will bring new kids to hockey in South Florida.
- Family is important to a professional hockey player.
The Florida Panthers had a great spring and made it to the Stanley Cup finals. However, Vegas Golden Knights was the winner of the final series and won the championship 4–1.
– It doesn’t help to explain. When the buzzer has sounded, the games are over. The better one won, Ruutu tells Iltalehte in Kaivopuisto in Helsinki.
What decided the championship?
– I have always rejected the idea that there are only one or two reasons for these things. The end result is the sum of so many things. We had room for improvement. Now I can’t turn the philosopher’s stone with which to comprehensively open the matter.
– Things will be carefully analyzed before the start of next season, both our own and the opponent’s. And the games to watch many more times.
The Panthers’ coaching went through things already after the end of the season.
– Now let’s take a breather and get back to things a little later in the summer. Let’s think, analyze, look and copy, Ruutu laughs.
Great atmosphere
Ruutu made history in the finals. He was the first Finnish coach to stand in the changing room of an NHL finals team.
– I can’t really say what it means to me. Didn’t think much of it during the final rush. Winning the Stanley Cup was always on my mind as a player, and so it was now. During my playing career, I didn’t make it to the finals.
– I am grateful for the moments that took our team to the final. I was able to enjoy the atmosphere.
South Florida woke up
The Panthers played a great spring and made it to the NHL finals. A puck boom was born in the South Florida region. AOP / USA TODAY Sports
The Panthers played in the finals for the second time in their history. During the spring weeks, a puck boom took place in South Florida.
– The hall was full and people were talking about the Panthers everywhere. There was a wonderful atmosphere in the hall. Panthers were visible in the street scene. Yes, there is interest in hockey in the region, and success will certainly help the club and the sport to gain visibility.
– Hopefully our success will bring new kids to hockey in the area and new spectators to the games. The increase in popularity was already visible at the end of last season, when we won the regular season. The Miami Heat were in the NBA Finals, so there was a little bit more of a sports boom in South Florida.
The work continues
Aleksander Barkov is the Panthers’ captain and number one center. The other Finnish players in the team are Anton Lundell and Eetu Luostarinen. AOP / USA TODAY Sports
40-year-old Ruutu has worked in the Panthers’ coaching for two seasons now. In the first season, there was an NHL regular season win. In the second season, the Panthers advanced to the finals.
– I will continue in the same job next season, Ruutu reveals to Iltalehte.
The man’s coaching career is still relatively short, but the employers have a tough standard. First, the Vantaa-raised member was part of the coaching team of the Finnish under-20 national team. He has also served as the New York Rangers’ vice boss of player development.
Now the career is on the rise as an NHL coach.
Where do you see yourself in five years?
– I strive to constantly develop as a coach. It was the same as a player. When I went to the hall, I wanted to do my best and improve. It doesn’t happen every day. But that’s the goal. Where will it take me as a coach, I don’t know, Ruutu thinks.
Family support
Tuomo Ruutu gets good support from his wife and children in his hard work. AOP / USA TODAY Sports
Many Finns have vacationed at the home base of the Panthers, Sunrise, Ft. Lauderdale and Boca Raton areas. Great places with plenty of sandy beaches and sun.
The everyday life of an NHL coach is hectic, and lying on the beach is less common.
– During the season, the work with all the preparations and trips is intense. A lot of time is spent in the hall. Then when you’re at home, it’s pretty much like being with your kids and wife. We’re together in our free time, I’m away so much, says Ruutu.
There are three children in the family.
– I get a lot of support and encouragement from my family, and I wouldn’t be able to do this job otherwise. Vaimo was the best coach during my playing career – she thought I always played well, Finland’s only NHL coach laughs.