Aleksi Saarela

On June 24, 2019, Saarela was traded by the Hurricanes, along with Calvin de Haan, to the Chicago Blackhawks in exchange for Gustav Forsling and Anton Forsberg.

Saarela participated in the Blackhawks 2019 training camp, before he was reassigned to begin the 2019–20 season in the AHL with the Rockford IceHogs. Unable to crack Chicago's roster, Saarela requested a trade and after just 5 games with the IceHogs Saarela was dealt by the Blackhawks to the Florida Panthers in exchange for Ian McCoshen on October 23, 2019. He was directly assigned to report to the Panthers' AHL affiliate, the Springfield Thunderbirds.

On 3 January 2018, Saarela was recalled by the Carolina Hurricanes from the Charlotte Checkers prior to a game with the Pittsburgh Penguins. However, it was short lived as he was sent back down days later without playing a game.

Saarela made his SM-liiga debut playing with Lukko during the 2012–13 SM-liiga season. On 28 February 2016, the rights to Saarela, along with a 2016 second-round draft pick and a 2017 second-round draft pick, were traded from the New York Rangers to the Carolina Hurricanes in exchange for Eric Staal.

In the 2015–16 season, Saarela led Porin Ässät with 20 goals and finished third in overal scoring with 33 points in 51 games. On 20 April 2016, he signed a one-year contract to return to his original club, Lukko, on a one-year contract. Under two months later, on 13 June 2016, Saarela was then signed to a three-year entry-level contract with the Carolina Hurricanes.

Aleksi Saarela (born 7 January 1997) is a Finnish professional ice hockey forward. He is currently playing with the Florida Panthers of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was originally selected 89th overall in the 2015 NHL Entry Draft by the New York Rangers.