Saarela's first NHL goal was a long time coming.

A native of Helsinki, Saarela was selected by the New York Rangers in the third round (No. 89) of the 2015 NHL Draft after he had 12 points (six goals, six assists) in 51 games for Assat in Liiga, Finland's top professional league, as an 18-year-old.

The following season, Saarela scored 20 goals with Assat and helped Finland win the gold medal at the 2016 IIHF World Junior Championship by scoring seven points (four goals, three assists) in seven games. However, he was traded to the Carolina Hurricanes on Feb. 27, 2016, as part of the package for Eric Staal.

The Hurricanes signed Saarela to a three-year, entry-level contract on June 13, 2016, and after playing the 2016-17 season for Lukko Rauma in Liiga, he came to North America and scored six goals in nine games for Charlotte of the American Hockey League.

Saarela emerged as a top AHL scorer during the next two seasons, finishing with 25 goals in 2017-18 and scoring 30 in 2018-19. He also had 15 points (seven goals, eight assists) in 17 playoff games to Charlotte win the 2019 Calder Cup championship. That came after he made his NHL debut on April 20, 2019, in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference First Round against the Washington Capitals.

Still, Saarela was traded for the second time in the NHL, this time to the Chicago Blackhawks on June 25, 2019. There, he was assigned to Rockford of the AHL, but after playing only five games, he was again traded to the Florida Panthers on Oct. 22, 2019.

Saarela played most of that season with Springfield of the AHL, but he made his regular-season NHL debut against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Dec. 7, 2019. He didn't have a point during a short three-game stint, but he was recalled again on Feb. 18, and one day later, he scored his first NHL goal in a 4-1 win against the Anaheim Ducks.

Saarela would go on to play in nine games before the season was paused on March 12 due to concerns surrounding the coronavirus, getting two goals and two assists.