Utah Hockey Club Places Juuso Valimaki on Waivers

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.

ITR 37: Round Two – Inside The Rink

Join Chris and Conrad as they see how they did on their first round predictions, along with laying out their second round thoughts. Picking winners for Round Two!

1. ITR 37: Round Two 45:11
2. ITR 36: Coaching Carousel 48:56
3. ITR 35: Round One 52:27
4. ITR 34: End Of The Road 41:46
5. ITR 33: The Gr8 One 44:20