Roni Hirvonen’s hard luck road with the Leafs now has him returning to play in Finland for the 2025-26 season.
The centre, a second-round pick in 2020, has been long rumoured to head home with his chances to crack the Leafs at present quite unlikely and marred by previous injuries. A restricted free agent, he can remain Leaf property if he receives a qualifying offer.
The 5-foot-10 Hirvonen played a total of 100 regular season and playoff games for the AHL Marlies beginning in 2023-24, but was badly concussed by a bodycheck in that year’s Leafs development camp and later suffered a career-threatening eye injury from an errant stick. Hirvonen had 26 points in 59 games after returning from the latter mishap.
He has inked a one-year deal with Karpat that club announced Monday after four pre-AHL years in Finland, two each with Assat Pori and HFK Helsinki. Hirvonen was the selection after first-round Russian Rodion Amirov, who died of a brain tumour before he could attend Leafs camp.
Defenceman Topi Niemela, a Finnish defenceman picked right after Hirvonen, is also an RFA.