Four Nations Faceoff Defenseman Juuso Valimaki's Waiver Fate Revealed
Juuso Valimaki was surprisingly placed on waivers on Sunday, and while there was expected to be interest in him, he has officially passed through waivers unclaimed.
When the then Arizona Coyotes acquired Juuso Valimaki, there was plenty of optimism that even with the Calgary Flames giving up on him, there's plenty of potential in the talented defenseman.
In his first full season with the team, he posted a career high of 34 points and appeared set to be a key piece of this blue line for years to come, but on Sunday, he was surprisingly waived by the Utah Hockey Club.
The expectation was that with a $2 million salary cap hit for this season and next, Valimaki could garner plenty of interest around the league, but now, it's been confirmed by Elliotte Friedman that he has passed through waivers unclaimed.
As a result, the organization has confirmed that the Finnish International representative will head to the Tucson Roadrunners of the AHL as he looks to get back to 100% and contribute down the stretch to a potential Stanley Cup Playoffs push in Salt Lake City.
In 43 games this season, Valimaki has posted just 2 goals and 5 points, with many believing that an off-season injury is still hampering the talented 26-year old, and if he's given time to get back to 100%, he'll be a productive top-four defenseman once again.
This may ultimately be seen as a missed opportunity for many teams around the league, as Valimaki is still young enough to grow into the first-round potential he had when he was drafted back in 2017, and if he can get back to 100% and back to the NHL this year alongside Mikhail Sergachev, Sean Durzi and John Marino, this will be a very good blue line.
| G | A | PTS | ||
| Alexander Ovechkin | 3 | - | 3 | |
| Jason Robertson | 3 | - | 3 | |
| Patrick Kane | 2 | 1 | 3 | |
| Dylan Strome | 1 | 2 | 3 | |
| Nico Hischier | - | 3 | 3 | |
| Aliaksei Protas | - | 3 | 3 | |
| Cutter Gauthier | 2 | - | 2 | |
| J.T. Miller | 2 | - | 2 | |
| Nicholas Robertson | 2 | - | 2 | |
| Ryan Shea | 2 | - | 2 | |
| Jakob Chychrun | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Adam Fox | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Brandon Hagel | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Dougie Hamilton | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Nazem Kadri | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Marco Kasper | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Evgeni Malkin | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Jake McCabe | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Ryan Nugent-Hopkins | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Chris Tanev | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Complete stats | ||||
| STANDINGS 2024-2025 | ||||||
TOP 10 | GP | W | L | OL | PTS | |
Capitals | 57 | 38 | 11 | 8 | 84 | |
Jets | 57 | 40 | 14 | 3 | 83 | |
Stars | 57 | 37 | 18 | 2 | 76 | |
Golden Knights | 57 | 34 | 17 | 6 | 74 | |
Maple Leafs | 57 | 35 | 20 | 2 | 72 | |
Oilers | 57 | 34 | 19 | 4 | 72 | |
Wild | 57 | 34 | 19 | 4 | 72 | |
Panthers | 58 | 34 | 21 | 3 | 71 | |
Hurricanes | 57 | 33 | 20 | 4 | 70 | |
Devils | 59 | 32 | 21 | 6 | 70 | |
| Conference | Cumulative | ||||||