Quote:
Originally Posted by Savvy27
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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His contract absolutely will not allow him to make this team. He is eligible for a double slide so essentially they send him back to the dub for this year. Next year he plays the entire year in the AHL. The following year he makes the big team and you still have him for 3 full years on his ELC.
This is the most likely scenario, however if he makes big strides this year I could see him forcing himself onto the team next training camp.
It’s probably best for his development any ways to go dominate junior instead of playing 10 minutes a night on the bottom pairing.