The 35-year-old forward played 13 seasons in the NHL with the Nashville Predators, Detroit Red Wings, New Jersey Devils and Chicago Blackhawks, and had 161 points (65 goals, 96 assists) and 1,010 penalty minutes in 723 games.
"I look back and I reflect on my hockey career and what it's given me opportunity-wise away from the game," Tootoo said this month. "Personally I didn't think it would go this far. But I'm grateful for everything that's put in front of me. It's been a tremendous ride."
Tootoo last played in the NHL in 2016-17. He began last season on long-term injured reserve with an upper-body injury and did not play after the Blackhawks assigned him to Rockford of the American Hockey League on Nov. 30.
He was skating with the Western Hockey League team in his hometown of Kelowna, British Columbia, looking for an opportunity to play in Europe.
Tootoo is from Rankin Inlet, an Inuit hamlet in Nunavut, Canada, with a population of fewer than 3,000.
"Still to this day, it was kind of an unbelievable experience and I'm hoping that I can pave the way for future indigenous, aboriginal kids coming up," he said.
NHL.com staff writer Tom Gulitti contributed to this report.
