[News] Valimaki with a torn ACL *[UPDATE 1 Feb] Back skating*

[SeanCharles]

Originally Posted by Heavy Jack

I agree; he averaged 15 mins a night last year but the previous 4 was averaging close to 21 a night. I still think he has game in him and with a bit of stability and a good club in front of him he could play some meaningful minutes while also pushing young guys like Kylington to take their spots on the team rather than being given them.

Phaneuf 1 x 750k

Giordano - Brodie
Hanifin - Hamonic
Phaneuf - Andersson
Kylington

To start the season that’s a very solid D corps to be able to deploy and can offer many different looks depending on the team we are facing. Time will tell but I’d be happy to take Phaneuf on a PTO/League min contract.

I will be pissed to no end if Phanuef is getting minutes over Kylington.

Kylington needs to play.

[dino7c]

Originally Posted by SeanCharles

I will be pissed to no end if Phanuef is getting minutes over Kylington.

Kylington needs to play.

If he is good enough he will get minutes

[Bourque's Twin]

Sign me up for a league minimum Phaneuf. I don’t think it’s a risk with the fans. The fans would love to see him back. He has good work ethic and has matured as a person since he was in Calgary.

[Wolfman]

Originally Posted by Bourque's Twin

Sign me up for a league minimum Phaneuf. I don’t think it’s a risk with the fans. The fans would love to see him back. He has good work ethic and has matured as a person since he was in Calgary.

Plus it means we get to see Elisha!

[1qqaaz]

It's too bad they lost Fantenberg and Stone (hindsight is 20/20). I hope they don't spend consierable assets trying to make up for this.
If they keep Brodie and then Brodie walks as a UFA, this could end up costing the Flames a 1st that they could have otherwise obtained by trading Brodie. Brodie walking as a UFA would be the worst case scenerio.

[Geeoff]

Originally Posted by 1qqaaz

It's too bad they lost Fantenberg and Stone (hindsight is 20/20). I hope they don't spend consierable assets trying to make up for this.
If they keep Brodie and then Brodie walks as a UFA, this could end up costing the Flames a 1st that they could have otherwise obtained by trading Brodie. Brodie walking as a UFA would be the worst case scenerio.

Just think of Brodie as a rental

[jayswin]

I personally don't think Treliving has switched to "we're obviously keeping Brodie now" like the fan base and media did.

I think he had two plans left this summer

1. Turn Brodie as an asset into a mean, skilled top 9 forward.
2. Use Frolik (or possibly some of Brodie trade) to free up cap space to sign Tkachuk

Then a third got added

3. Acquire another depth defenseman who can slot in comfortably in the 5/6 position.


I personally don't think the Valimaki injury changes one or two and he's likely still speaking daily with the same GM's on the same possible deals. If anything he may have inadvertently received a negotiating tactic that makes him look less desperate to other GM's in a Brodie trade

"Alright GM X, I'd still love to make this trade if you're comfortable, but at this point I can take comfort in keeping Brodie with the Valimaki injury, so give me a shout next week with your thoughts".

[getbak]

Video from the golf tournament today. He talks about Valimaki around the 6:15 mark.




Contrary to previous reports, Valimaki had the surgery a couple of weeks ago and is beginning the rehab process.

They will have a better idea as to the recovery timeline in a month or so.

[PugnaciousIntern]

Originally Posted by getbak

Video from the golf tournament today. He talks about Valimaki around the 6:15 mark.




Contrary to previous reports, Valimaki had the surgery a couple of weeks ago and is beginning the rehab process.

They will have a better idea as to the recovery timeline in a month or so.

That makes more sense

[united]

Terrible news, both for the Flames but more for Valimaki himself suffering another setback. I was really looking forward to him solidifying himself as a bonafide NHL defenseman this season, and starting his progressive and rapid development into a legitimate first pairing NHL defenseman within a couple seasons.

Tough for the Flames too as this throws a wrench into the plans in a number of ways. Kylington clearly needs another season of development in the minors before fulltime NHL duty aside from heavily sheltered situations, and I do believe there was the possibility the Flames were going to include him in a move this summer at his request. Still a chance, but very tough to pull the trigger on that now with depth/Brodie issue in light of Valimaki's injury. Tough spot for Treliving, that's for sure.

Here's to a speedy and routine recovery for Valimaki, and hopefully he's ready to go for round two of the playoffs.

[Roof-Daddy]

You honestly have to wonder if he'll ever be as good as was expected now. He's missing huge chunks of key development years.

[ComixZone]

Originally Posted by united

Terrible news, both for the Flames but more for Valimaki himself suffering another setback. I was really looking forward to him solidifying himself as a bonafide NHL defenseman this season, and starting his progressive and rapid development into a legitimate first pairing NHL defenseman within a couple seasons.



Tough for the Flames too as this throws a wrench into the plans in a number of ways. Kylington clearly needs another season of development in the minors before fulltime NHL duty aside from heavily sheltered situations, and I do believe there was the possibility the Flames were going to include him in a move this summer at his request. Still a chance, but very tough to pull the trigger on that now with depth/Brodie issue in light of Valimaki's injury. Tough spot for Treliving, that's for sure.



Here's to a speedy and routine recovery for Valimaki, and hopefully he's ready to go for round two of the playoffs.

I’m not sure why Kylington “clearly needs another season of development”, he was 6th defenceman on the best team in the western conference for plenty of time last year. I don’t think he has anything left to do at the AHL level, now he gets to develop and grow his game at the nhl level.

[dammage79]

Yeah, keeping Kylington down at this point would just hamper his development. He was perfectly fine last year in his time with the big club. Some 1st year gaffes here and there but the overall product he put on the ice was really good IMO. Hes ready for full time.

Even sending him down because of depth seems a little harsh. I mean let's see what he does at camp but I cannot forsee him not being on the opening night roster.

Heck, Gio-Brodie, Hanifin-Hammer, Andersson-Kylington
Seems like a perfectly legit top six.

[neo45]

Originally Posted by ComixZone

I’m not sure why Kylington “clearly needs another season of development”, he was 6th defenceman on the best team in the western conference for plenty of time last year. I don’t think he has anything left to do at the AHL level, now he gets to develop and grow his game at the nhl level.

If he’s in the AHL he can play more minutes, and get both PP and PK time. That is valuable for his development

Also his NHL results weren’t great last year even if the team’s results were. He faced weak competition with mostly O zone starts and still was outplayed.

So it might actually be better for the team AND the player to have him develop for another full season.

[PepsiFree]

Originally Posted by neo45

If he’s in the AHL he can play more minutes, and get both PP and PK time. That is valuable for his development

Also his NHL results weren’t great last year even if the team’s results were. He faced weak competition with mostly O zone starts and still was outplayed.

So it might actually be better for the team AND the player to have him develop for another full season.

If he’s in the NHL playing against NHL competition, that’s valuable for his development.

He played 38 games last year and did well. His possession numbers and zone starts are what you’d expect for a rookie (similar to Andersson and Valimaki), and you should look at increasing his NHL time, not decreasing it to zero.

I don’t see how it’d be better for him or the team to stick him back in the AHL. We need players like Kylington, Andersson, and Valimaki.

[sureLoss]

Ryan Leslie @ryanleslie73
Valimaki on a crutch here at the dome 13 days after ACL surgery. Swollen right knee and a whole lot of disappointment on his face.

[Snuffleupagus]

Originally Posted by Roof-Daddy

You honestly have to wonder if he'll ever be as good as was expected now. He's missing huge chunks of key development years.

He's far to good to forget how to play, most likely it'll take him a year to get up to speed and mentally trust the knee but he should be just fine.

[Moneyhands23]

Originally Posted by sureLoss

Ryan Leslie @ryanleslie73
Valimaki on a crutch here at the dome 13 days after ACL surgery. Swollen right knee and a whole lot of disappointment on his face.

I guess the good news is the surgery is done. Hopefully no complications and he can start to recover soon-ish.

[jlh2640]

So did we sign Dion yet . . . . .

[AC]

Originally Posted by Moneyhands23

I guess the good news is the surgery is done. Hopefully no complications and he can start to recover soon-ish.

Yeah the surgery was done several weeks ago according to Treliving in the video. Sounds like the previous report that the surgery hadn't happened yet was wrong.