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

[Conbon]

For anyone interested here's his AHL fancy stats

 

[CraigsList]

Don’t see where he fits when Chychrun is back in 2-3 weeks. He’ll be behind Chychrun, Gostisbehere and Moser on the left. Kolyachonok also looked good in camp/preseason.

Maybe a Chychrun trade is closer than we think. That extra 1st the Rangers have could go to AZ now and more for Chychrun.

 

[Some Other Flame]

Excellent all round. Great the for the Flames to shed that cap hit. Great for Valimaki to get a fresh start on a new team with zero expectations.

Edit: Surprised though that it was Arizona of all teams that made the claim. Really thought his 2M in real salary would deter them most of all. Guess it's good that wasn't the case.

 

[Rubi]

Maybe a Chychrun trade is closer than we think. That extra 1st the Rangers have could go to AZ now and more for Chychrun.

They'll make that Chychrun trade for picks and prospects. This is the year the Coyotes go all in for the best chance to draft someone who could be a generational player.

For anyone interested here's his AHL fancy statsView attachment 592014

How does his AHL fancy stats compare to those of Connor Mackey? Just curious.

 

[DFF]

Chychrun replacement?

So Chychrun is waiver material?

Any flames fan want to give a basic rundown on his playstyle?

Hanging on for dear life is his style

He really doesn’t do anything well except making obvious mistakes

 

[Treb]

Lol. Vaakanainen, Juolevi, Valimaki. Anybody else?

3 in two draft years leaves an expression, especially considering Finnish D in the first round are not a common occurence.

Vaakanainen, Juolevi, Valimaki, Heiskanen, Ristolainen, Jokiharju and Honka are the Finnish D drafted in the first round in the last 10 years if I'm not forgetting anybody so 43% got derailed by injuries.

 

[Rubi]

This is funny...

 

[A1LeafNation]

Chychrun (a #2) and Ghost (#4). Possibly Moser.

Ghost Chychryn
Moser Mayo
Valimaki Brown
Nemeth Stecher

It's not as bad a group as you would expect, but they clearly lack a top pairing dman.

 

[SeanMoneyHands]

Valimaki is a bust anyways

 

[Petey O]

Good on Zona. I still think Valimaki has potential.

 

[biturbo19]

Absolutely makes sense for a team like Arizona to give it a whirl at least. He's certainly shown that he has the ability to be a potential Top-4D in the NHL. Just really remains to be seen if injuries have sapped his ability to get there, or if some time to just settle in and get back on track can straighten things out.


Not feeling super great about his chances of turning his career around in the rolling dumpster fire that is Arizona's lineup right now though. That's not a great development environment. Not a lot of shelter/protection to be had for a guy trying to re-find his footing.

 

[HarrySPlinkett]

Valimaki’s skating has always been below-average. He tore his knee up, and he’s never been able to recover.

He has decent skill - but he’s not as skilled as he thinks he is.

He wilted under Darryl Sutter, which says more about him than anything.

I wish him luck.

 

[DingDongCharlie]

Arizona is my best chance for seeing my dream top 4 D on one club. Timmins, Valimaki, Juolevi and Juulsen.

 

[Baby Doaner]

This is funny...

Yup. Very original. Yawn.

 

[hbk]

Absolutely makes sense for a team like Arizona to give it a whirl at least. He's certainly shown that he has the ability to be a potential Top-4D in the NHL. Just really remains to be seen if injuries have sapped his ability to get there, or if some time to just settle in and get back on track can straighten things out.


Not feeling super great about his chances of turning his career around in the rolling dumpster fire that is Arizona's lineup right now though. That's not a great development environment. Not a lot of shelter/protection to be had for a guy trying to re-find his footing.

A few Coyotes took a big step in their development with AZ last year. moser, Keller, Acmaltz, Hayton etc. hell even Nick Ritchie and Gostibere salvaged their careers with strong pkay as Coyotes.

 

[biturbo19]

A few Coyotes took a big step in their development with AZ last year. moser, Keller, Acmaltz, Hayton etc. hell even Nick Ritchie and Gostibere salvaged their careers with strong pkay as Coyotes.

Hayton is really the only one who falls into that "prospect trying to find footing" category though. And even in that, his situation is a bit different as a very high Yotes draft selection.

But maybe. I hope Valimaki can find a niche there and get back on track. But it's just not easy for prospects who are starting in a hole, to climb out of it with a team that's already playing every night over their heads and in a hole.

Like Keller and Schmaltz had both proven pretty clearly that they can play, and make an impact at the NHL level. Before Arizona descended into this...whatever they're doing. They're just building on that, but they've already got some decent footing to start with. As do the vet reclamation projects like Ghost.

It's a different situation for someone like Valimaki.

 

[hbk]

Hayton is really the only one who falls into that "prospect trying to find footing" category though. And even in that, his situation is a bit different as a very high Yotes draft selection.

But maybe. I hope Valimaki can find a niche there and get back on track. But it's just not easy for prospects who are starting in a hole, to climb out of it with a team that's already playing every night over their heads and in a hole.

Like Keller and Schmaltz had both proven pretty clearly that they can play, and make an impact at the NHL level. Before Arizona descended into this...whatever they're doing. They're just building on that, but they've already got some decent footing to start with. As do the vet reclamation projects like Ghost.

It's a different situation for someone like Valimaki.

Moser was a 2nd round pick in 2021.

 

[wetcoast]

Good for him. I hope he can find his game again. Injuries have really taken a toll on him and his confidence as a player. He looks nothing like the player he was three years ago.

Best of luck Jusso.

Came here to say this but sadly I think injuries have taken too much of a toll already.

 

[biturbo19]

Moser was a 2nd round pick in 2021.

And old "men's league" pick making the jump? That's cool. Hardly permanently entrenched as an NHLer, but definitely making strides toward that i guess. But still not really relevant to Valimaki's situation. He's a young draft pick who has had injuries that saw him fail to establish at the NHL level. Now an older prospect trying to get back on track.

Arizona doesn't seem like a great place for him to do that. Especially if/when Chychrun is moved.

 

[hbk]

And old "men's league" pick making the jump? That's cool. Hardly permanently entrenched as an NHLer, but definitely making strides toward that i guess. But still not really relevant to Valimaki's situation. He's a young draft pick who has had injuries that saw him fail to establish at the NHL level. Now an older prospect trying to get back on track.

Arizona doesn't seem like a great place for him to do that. Especially if/when Chychrun is moved.

Its a young defensemen who wasn’t expected to even make the show for a year or two who played and is playing well at the pro level.

 

[biturbo19]

Its a young defensemen who wasn’t expected to even make the show for a year or two who played and is playing well at the pro level.

And if he showed up on waivers mid-season, would anyone actually even blink?

No. But also, he doesn't even need waivers, because of his situation. It's not the same as someone like Valimaki coming in. Period.

 

[hbk]

And if he showed up on waivers mid-season, would anyone actually even blink?

No. But also, he doesn't even need waivers, because of his situation. It's not the same as someone like Valimaki coming in. Period.

It’s about player development (Moser) and getting players who are offtrack back on track (Gostibhere, Mayo). That’s something AZ did very well last year. That’s my point.

 

[General Disarray]

Lol didn't I just see Flames fans offering him for someone of value recently?

 

[Schemp]

I can see Tourigny working with Valimaki, getting him back on track. Hope they put in a claim for Ingram.

 

[McJedi]

At least he didn’t go to the Oilers locker room where Kane is the King

You mean poison right?