It’s mid-November 2024, and the Utah Hockey Club‘s injury-riddled defensive core is in dire need of defensemen Sean Durzi and John Marino, who are on injured reserved (IR). Down two of its top four defensemen, the team momentarily holds a 7-8-1 record in its inaugural NHL season.
In the absence of Durzi and Marino, defenseman Juuso Välimäki was someone who was supposed to pick up the slack for them. However, the 26-year-old has failed to record a point in 16 games this season and holds a minus-5 rating. It’s time to decipher his future in Utah.
Välimäki’s Roller Coaster of a Career
The Finnish defenseman was the Calgary Flames’ 2017 first-round selection. After being drafted, Välimäki returned to play his third and final season with the Tri-City Americans of the Western Hockey League (WHL). He posted two point-per-game seasons for the Americans and piled up 138 points in 159 games at the WHL level.
Välimäki started the 2018-19 season in Calgary — staying with the team until late November 2018. In 22 games, he tallied two points, a minus-3 rating and 12 penalty minutes. The Flames sent the 6-foot-4, 221-pounder down to the American Hockey League (AHL) after an unproductive stint at the NHL level. He found his footing with the Stockton Heat (Calgary’s AHL affiliate at the time), accumulating 14 points in 20 games. The Flames called him back up for two games in early March and he added an assist.
An ACL tear would end Välimäki’s 2018-19 campaign during a preseason game. The left-hand shot played in 49 of the Flames’ 56 games the following season. In a shortened regular season, he scored two goals and nine assists for 11 points. Entering the 2021-22 season, the team was on its third head coach in three seasons. With a packed defensive core of Rasmus Andersson, Noah Hanifin, Chris Tanev, Nikita Zadorov, Oliver Kylington, Erik Gudbransen and Michael Stone, there was no room for a still-developing player. He dressed in nine games in Calgary that season and assisted on two goals.
In hopes of furthering the development of their first-round pick, the Flames placed Välimäki on waivers on Oct. 8, 2022. Instead, the Arizona Coyotes claimed him a day later. At the time, Arizona’s depth-deprived d-core was highlighted by Jakob Chychrun and Shayne Gostisbehere. It was a perfect fit for him as there was no pressure to produce because the Coyotes finished with a record of 28-40-14 that season. Therefore, he set career highs in games played (78), goals (four), assists (30) and points (34). His 34 points on the season led all of Arizona’s defensemen in that category.
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In the Coyotes’ last season in the desert, Välimäki solidified himself on Arizona’s second defensive pairing with Michael Kesselring after the team traded away defensemen Matt Dumba and Troy Stecher at the trade deadline. He had a more productive first half of the season, lighting the lamp twice and assisting on eight goals for 10 points in 41 games. In his next 27 games, he posted an impressive plus-16 rating and added seven assists to his season total. In 68 games, he finished with 17 points and a team-best plus-12 rating.
Välimäki’s under-the-radar 2023-24 campaign earned him a two-year contract worth $2 million average annual value (AAV).
“We are looking forward to having Juuso return to our team for a third season,” said Bill Armstrong, general manager of the Utah Hockey Club. “He is a big, strong, two-way defenseman who has been a great addition to our defensive group over the past two seasons.”
While Armstrong was satisfied with his play at the time of his contract, he might be eating his words now based on Välimäki’s start to the 2024-25 season.
Välimäki’s Struggles in Utah
Välimäki was known for his noteworthy plus/minus rating last season. This season, his minus-5 rating is the third worst on Utah. Furthermore, he’s been on the ice for 28.6% of the team’s goals (third worst on Utah). He is also fifth on the team in giveaways with 19. Known for his puck handling and vision, this statistic begs to differ. His 0.7 expected goals rank him sixth worst on the team (the five players below him have played fewer games than him).
His struggles have caused the UHC’s head coach, André Tourigny, to mix and match Välimäki with several defense partners. Those being Kesselring, recently acquired Olli Määttä, Vladislav Kolyachonok, Ian Cole or serving as the team’s extra defenseman.
Potential Replacement
Lately, it has been rumored that Montreal Canadians defenseman David Savard will likely be traded before the trade deadline. The 34-year-old could provide more veteran experience along with Cole. He would also be another right-hand shot, which Utah desperately needs on the back end. The 6-foot-1, 235-pounder is known for his shot-blocking abilities and can be a reliable penalty killer. This addition could serve as a one-year rental as he has one year left on his $3.5 million AAV deal. Considering the team ranks tied for first in total penalty minutes in the NHL and has a bottom-seven penalty kill percentage, he would help the team in this area.
Will Välimäki turn his slow start around? Only time will tell as the team awaits the return of two important right-handed defensemen.
