Flames are playing it safe with Juuso Valimaki
By Ryan Pike
4 years agoLast summer, young Finnish defender Juuso Valimaki was slated to be a full-time member of the Calgary Flames in the 2019-20 campaign. Due to a major off-season knee injury he might not play a single game for the club this season.
The Flames’ top pick in the 2017 NHL Draft, Valimaki is a supremely poised, confident offensive defender. The product of Nokia, Finland broke into the NHL in 2018-19 as a 20-year-old and split his first pro season between Calgary and the AHL’s Stockton Heat – the main reason he went to the AHL was to rehab after suffering a high ankle sprain last November.
Valimaki suffered an ACL tear in August – nine months after his ankle injury. Generally-speaking, ACL recoveries are on a seven to nine month timeline depending on the severity of the tear. Seven months would March/April, while nine months would be May/June.
Now, what would factor into the Flames’ decision to press Valimaki into service (or not)?
- NHL bodies? With the addition of Derek Forbort and Erik Gustafsson, and the impending return of Travis Hamonic, the Flames will have nine established NHL defenders on their roster.
- UFA status? Whether Valimaki plays or not, the second year of his entry level contract will be burned off. He’ll be credited with a year of service towards unrestricted free agency regardless of whether he plays or not.
- Expansion status? The Seattle expansion draft is in 2021. Players with two seasons (or fewer) of pro experience will be exempt, as they were in the Vegas draft. If Valimaki doesn’t play an NHL or AHL game this season – and he can’t go to the AHL aside from on a conditioning stint – then our understanding is he’ll be exempt from the expansion draft. (No pro games played equals not being credited with a year of pro experience, after all.)
We checked on Valimaki’s status with Flames interim head coach Geoff Ward on Saturday:
No update, really. There’s no change in him whatsoever in terms of whether he’s getting closer to play or not. He’s recovering from a serious injury. With all the defensemen that we have right now, we’re not taking any chances on trying to rush him back. We’ll take all the time that he needs in order for him to fully heal 100% and for him to feel comfortable.
The Flames are taking the long view on Valimaki’s recovery. Based on Ward’s comments and the severity of the injury, it would be a shock if Valimaki played pro hockey at all this season.
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