Valimaki was supposed to be the crown jewel of our defense between Hanifin, Andersson, and Kylington. Had that quote about how he'd make the NHL within 2 years of the draft, actually cracked the line-up in our 2019 season where we were top of the west, played in the playoffs and was a bright spot in the series loss.
When Sutter came in, expectations for the team changed and Valimaki couldn't overcome his new limitations from the injuries to think the game in a different way. Treliving was in the process of grooming him for the #1D spot before he was close to earning it so it probably was a pretty big shock to him that he got sent down last year.
That perfection quote is interesting when we're a club that roles four lines and three pairings for the likes of Lewis, Lucic, Gudbranson, Rooney. Zadorov learned from his time in the pressbox and spent time in the summer bettering his game and is a more useful player for us, getting more opportunities.
I'm happy Valimaki gets a shot to prove himself at the NHL level but no one else wanted him via trade or waivers and he's on a team where the sole expectation for the players is to not intentionally score on your net. It's good he's happy, but will he learn enough there to stick in the NHL? Doesn't sound like he's there yet, mentally