Claimed off Waivers: [ARI] Coyotes claim D Juuso Valimaki off waivers from the Flames

[XX]

All it took was Tourigny telling him he had a fresh start and just giving him TOI. I understand if a team driving hard for the playoffs can't stomach that but he has been great. Can't argue with free.

 

[GeeoffBrown]

On an unrelated note, I love your avatar. I have a bunch of those old MVP cards. That was like '03-'04 or '05-'06, right?

I dunno I found it on Google LOL. Just decided to change the avatar to a classic Flame after all the drama with Tkachuk and Gaudreau in the off-season. Kipper's off fishing somewhere in the middle of nowhere, so little risk of being a problem

 

[Pestilence]

I'm still surprised he was claimed at all, especially by Arizona of all teams. His contract is really bad for what he brings.

One year at $1,550,000 is really bad? Worst case scenario you bury him and get like a 400k cap charge.

 

[CraigsList]

Great move by my second team I follow. Having him and Moser allows the Yotes to trade Chychrun and get a haul.

 

[OKR]

On an unrelated note, I love your avatar. I have a bunch of those old MVP cards. That was like '03-'04 or '05-'06, right?

06-07 actually

 

[Some Other Flame]

One year at $1,550,000 is really bad? Worst case scenario you bury him and get like a 400k cap charge.

2M in real money and a 1.55M cap hit for a player that was struggling in the AHL

Good on him to have seemingly turned it around in Arizona (I think at least; I haven't watched him play or anything) but he wasn't working out in Calgary

 

[Djp]

One year at $1,550,000 is really bad? Worst case scenario you bury him and get like a 400k cap charge.

At the time he was cut, how many teams had the cap space and roster spot to r reclaim him?

Arizona, Anaheim, Ottawa, Detroit, buffalo, chicsgo, and maybe one other team. At the time arizona might have been the only one with the space+ need.

given his age and injury history he doesn’t carry the weight of his past reputation.

waiver claims are tied to local need of a team at that moment

im sure other teams probably trade for him only after he cleared waivers. Nobody would give up a 4 th for him only to see him get claimed

 

[Scintillating10]

This turning into good deal. Valimaki playing a lot of minutes near league minimum

 

[Homesick]

This turning into good deal. Valimaki playing a lot of minutes near league minimum

He's still a fringe NHL'er. It's pretty bad when the Oilers 2nd pair minor league defenseman(Kesselring) was playing on the 'Yotes top four in the NHL

 

[KristichBabych]

He's still a fringe NHL'er. It's pretty bad when the Oilers 2nd pair minor league defenseman(Kesselring) was playing on the 'Yotes top four in the NHL

He signed for only 1 million next year… So for a top 2 def in Arizona, it’s a good turnaround and a good deal. But I understand you’re point…

 

[BKarchitect]

He and Walman are the breakout top 4 defenders out of nowhere for me this year.

You can say “he needs to keep it up for me to believe” but it’s hard to argue with the actual results. Playing big top pairing minutes and producing these kind of results on Arizona is pretty incredible. He’s not just a body filling an empty role like Chiarot did on Montreal last year when he was playing 24 minutes a night.

This is top drawer stuff.

 

[GermanSpitfire]

He and Walman are the breakout top 4 defenders out of nowhere for me this year.

You can say “he needs to keep it up for me to believe” but it’s hard to argue with the actual results. Playing big top pairing minutes and producing these kind of results on Arizona is pretty incredible.

Top drawer stuff.

Passes the eye test too. He has been fantastic.

 

[wasunder]

He always had talent, was trending really well in Calgary for a few years but injuries, log jams/opportunity etc stalled him. Kylie grin took his spot and he kind of disappears in the organization.

Glad he got a chance in Arizona and his career is panning out.

 

[Son of Petter]

Another Sutter casualty in Calgary. He was never gonna play under Sutter and they lost him for nothing.

 

[Uncle Scrooge]

He's still a fringe NHL'er. It's pretty bad when the Oilers 2nd pair minor league defenseman(Kesselring) was playing on the 'Yotes top four in the NHL

I don't think fringe NHL'ers are capable of playing ~22 minutes a night for almost 30 games now and look decent.

Sure he wouldn't play this much almost anywhere else, but I think he's showing that the ability was there to develop into at least a 2nd pairing defenseman.

 

[Wallet Inspector]

Nice to see that he's developing well.

Flames fans shouldn't feel bad though IMO. There wasn't really room for Valimaki on their squad and sometimes players just need a fresh start.

 

[markymarc1215]

Truly scraping the bottom of the barrel

This aged well.

 

[banks]

Best part about following a team while they rebuild is stories like this. Rebuilding teams have so many opportunities for players to take on a bigger role. And some players just absolutely break out, and it's awesome.

Glad for Yotes fans, and super glad for Valimaki.

 

[hbk]

AZ has a good scouting staff. This was a nice pickup. Same with Ingram.

 

[Bjornar Moxnes]

Another Sutter casualty in Calgary. He was never gonna play under Sutter and they lost him for nothing.

I mean tbf he's not beating any of Hanifin, Kylington, Zadorov, or Weegar on LHD.

 

[Hogan20]

I mean tbf he's not beating any of Hanifin, Kylington, Zadorov, or Weegar on LHD.

Not beating out Zadorov? lol

 

[Scintillating10]

He's still a fringe NHL'er. It's pretty bad when the Oilers 2nd pair minor league defenseman(Kesselring) was playing on the 'Yotes top four in the NHL

He's been playing good hockey as of late

 

[Son of Petter]

I mean tbf he's not beating any of Hanifin, Kylington, Zadorov, or Weegar on LHD.

Weegar is a RHD and Kylington hasn’t played a single game all year. Guys like Dennis Gilbert are playing 3LD for most of the season.

 

[Pirate King Luffy]

Not beating out Zadorov? lol

Zadorov fills a role for us on the 3rd pairing. He has actually been decent for us under Sutter's system.

 

[Yung Rotini]

Weegar is a RHD and Kylington hasn’t played a single game all year. Guys like Dennis Gilbert are playing 3LD for most of the season.

Weegar plays the left side