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Oilers sign forward Aku Räty after strong season in Finland
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Photo credit: Sirpa Poyhonen
Michael Menzies
May 25, 2026, 15:00 EDTUpdated: May 25, 2026, 15:05 EDT
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The Edmonton Oilers have made a late May signing out of Europe. 
On Monday morning, the Oilers announced they had agreed to terms with forward Aku Räty to a one-year, two-way contract. The deal is worth an annual value of $850,000. 
The right-shot winger is coming off a season with Karpat in Finland’s Liiga and finished seventh in league scoring. Raty scored 20 goals and 57 points to lead Karpat in points. He is known for his speed and forechecking abilities. 
Aku will turn 25 in July and is the older brother of Aatu Räty, a Vancouver Canucks prospect. 

The journey

Originally drafted by the Arizona Coyotes in the fifth round, 151st overall in the 2019 NHL Draft, Räty has spent two total seasons in North America. In 2025-26, he elected to go home to his native Finland. 
He’s played just one NHL game, coincidentally against the Edmonton Oilers. Räty earned an assist in that game on April 17, 2014, an eventual 5-2 win in one of the Coyotes’ last games. 
After being drafted, Räty played his next three seasons at Karpat, then one more season at Ilves Tampere. 
The 6’0”, 190lbs prospect played at two IIHF World Junior Championships in 2020 and 2021, earning bronze in his last tournament. 
His American Hockey League numbers were strong out of the gate. 
In 55 games with the Tucson Roadrunners in 2023-24, Räty scored 15 goals and 44 points. That was good enough for second on the Roadrunners, just two points behind Josh Doan, and earned him an end-of-season call-up. The Roadrunners also made the playoffs. 
But that momentum couldn’t quite be maintained. He struggled a bit more offensively with just four goals and 19 points in 50 games with the Roadrunners. 
Räty was included in a trade package between the Utah Hockey Club and the Chicago Blackhawks in March 2025. He was traded alongside Victor Soderstrom and Shea Weber’s contract for a fifth-round pick. 
The Oilers haven’t made a signing out of Europe since late March, when they added defenceman Tomas Cibulka. Out of the NCAA, the Oilers signed Owen Michaels in April. 
Michael Menzies is an Oilersnation columnist and co-host of PreGaming and Oilersnation After Dark. He’s also been the play-by-play voice of the Bonnyville Pontiacs in the AJHL since 2019. With seven years of news experience as the Editor-at-Large of Lakeland Connect in Bonnyville, Menzies collects vinyl, books, and stomach issues. Follow him on X at Menzies_4. 

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