Today, the Utah Hockey Club announced that they have placed defenseman Juuso Valimaki on waivers. Valimaki has been with the Utah/Arizona franchise since they claimed him off waivers from the Calgary Flames during the ’21-’22 season.
Juuso Valimaki Stats & Salary Cap
Valimaki only has five points in 43 games with Utah this season, a significant decline in production. Valimaki’s career-high points came with the Coyotes during the ’22-’23 season with four goals and 30 assists. While Valimaki only has a $2m AAV, if he is unclaimed, Utah can bury $1.25m on his cap hit if he’s assigned to the AHL.
With teams looking to add depth defense heading into the Trade Deadline and the low cost of adding Valimaki, it will be intriguing to see if he is claimed.
Valimaki is returning to Utah after competing for Team Finland in the 4 Nations Face-Off, where he was a healthy scratch for all three games. When drafted, Valimaki was an ‘offensive two-way defenseman with size and skating, top pairing upside’ that hasn’t come to fruition in his six NHL seasons.
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