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Tom Banks
July 29, 2025  (2:27 PM)

Marku Nutivaara with the Florida Panthers.

Photo credit: Pro Hockey Rumours

The Panthers have dominated the NHL lately, but before this they struggled, former blueliner Markus Nutivaara wore the jersey. Nutivaara is now coming out of retirement.

Back in 2015, the Columbus Blue Jackets used a seventh-round pick on Finnish defenseman Markus Nutivaara, and over his career in the NHL, he played in a total of 275 games, his final two seasons coming for the Florida Panthers.

Between 2017 and 2019, Nutivaara showed genuine potential, tallying 23 and 21 points in back-to-back seasons, but after posting just 11 assists in 31 games over two seasons for Florida, he walked away from the NHL and hockey altogether.

A return to the Ice for the Former Seventh-Round Pick

Now, a comeback is on the horizon, as Liiga team Karpat have officially announced his signing, with the 31-year old set to return to the ice in his homeland of Finland as of the 2025/26 season.

It’s unclear if Nutivaara has ambitions on returning to the NHL one day or if he’s simply looking to play in his home country of Finland, but there’s no doubting that in his time in the NHL, he showed great potential and had the chance to be a depth player on a good team.

With so many young players joining the NHL year after year, it becomes tougher and tougher to fight for a spot, but after the news of Nicklas Backstrom returning to Sweden, this is another potential feel-good story for a player returning home.

Ultimately, Nutivaara had a short, solid NHL career after being selected in the seventh round, and while those dreams may be over, he’s now got the chance to shine in Finland in one of the most competitive leagues in the world after several years away from the game.

Previously on HouseOfHockey

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Longtime NHL Defenseman Comes Out of Retirement After Nearly Four Years to Sign New Contract

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