I wonder if Valimaki's contract status will also work against him. If he starts this season, then he will be an RFA in the same summer that Brodie, Hamonic, Frolik, and Stone are finished their contracts. I could see the Flames looking at that and thinking that unless he absolutely forces his way onto the team, it would be nice to have him under contract in the last year of his entry-level deal in the 2020-21 season. It will be particularly helpful if the Flames are ultra competitive at the time to have a solid D man playing for a lower salary so they can add pieces to areas of weakness.
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