Flames lose former first-rounder Valimaki for free after waiver claim
Juuso Valimaki has officially seen his time with the Calgary Flames come to an end.
Along with Dennis Gilbert and recently-acquired forward Radim Zohorna, Valimaki was one of three players waived by Calgary yesterday.
On Sunday, Valimaki was claimed by the Arizona Coyotes, while Zohorna and Gilbert cleared and can officially be sent to the AHL’s Calgary Wranglers.
Valimaki never quite fit in with the Flames how one would expect of a former first round talent, who was taken at 16th overall in 2017.
He missed 28 games in the 2018-19 season because of a lower-body injury, and the entire 2019-20 season because of an ACL injury.
He has 16 points (three goals, 13 assists) in 82 career NHL games, and turned 24 earlier this week.
“I think you guys know I don’t like to comment too much on that until we go through the process, but those three are on waivers today,” Flames general manager Brad Treliving said yesterday. “We all know it’s been a tough couple years for Juuso. He’s had some injuries and then just getting some traction here the last little bit. We’ll see. We’ll see where it all goes.”
Where it goes, apparently, is Arizona. Perhaps Valimaki will find his oasis in the friendly confines of Arizona’s Mullett Arena, the 5,000 seat rink where the Coyotes will be playing this upcoming season.
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