[Signing] Coyotes sign Valimaki to 1 year contract extension

[Jiri Hrdina]

Tomi?

[Strange Brew]

It's not an unreasonable question to ask. Should you waive a 23 year old who at one time was progressing nicely and then apparently was derailed by injuries. Was he worth keeping on the NHL roster another year to see if the injuries were behind him?

IMO the Flames wanted to keep him but are always so tight against the cap that his $1.55 million cap hit was the issue. Which maybe means it was a bad contract signing, he was only just signed to that deal a year before being waived.

I don't really see it as a big loss as I think we are looking at no more than a #6 dman on a decent team. He is on a team friendly deal next year though; something the Flames don't have enough of.

I still really question if he has the makeup to succeed when the games get intense. We won't find that out until he plays with a legitimate NHL team.

[dobbles]

Originally Posted by Jiri Hrdina

Tomi?

I believe thats: Former Quad Cities Flames Legend Tomi Maki

Show the man some respect!

[dustygoon]

When he hurt his knee and missed a year, i remember someone on here correctly surmising not only does that push his development out but will make it difficult when he became eligible for waivers if his progress wasn't fast enough.

[Saqe]

Originally Posted by Strange Brew

It's not an unreasonable question to ask. Should you waive a 23 year old who at one time was progressing nicely and then apparently was derailed by injuries. Was he worth keeping on the NHL roster another year to see if the injuries were behind him?

IMO the Flames wanted to keep him but are always so tight against the cap that his $1.55 million cap hit was the issue. Which maybe means it was a bad contract signing, he was only just signed to that deal a year before being waived.

It was his cap hit plus the fact that there was no way Sutter was going to play him. And deservingly so, Valimaki was very poor in the preseason.

I guess the only question you can ask is why the situation got to where it was in the first place with a young player like him. I do think he's playing better than people are giving him credit for and still think he has top 4 upside. If he can stay healthy that is, and it's a big if.

[Erick Estrada]

Originally Posted by All In Good Time

An unfortunate injury, got passed on the depth chart, didn’t do a lot with his opportunities and ended up in a spot that severely limited his options here.

You can make a good case he's a regular on the roster had he not lost a lot of developmental time due to injuries but that's the way it goes as you can argue both Valimaki and Gillies are regulars on today's roster had they not suffered major injuries that cost them full seasons in their development. In the case of Gillies, it's clear he was never the same after but I would argue that Valimaki still isn't the same either although he's proven good enough to be a regular on a team that has $31 million of it's salary cap devoted to players that don't play for them. I feel Flames fans should be more happy that the guy has been able to continue his career rather than gnashing their teeth over the fact that he simply didn't work out in Calgary through no fault of the Flames.

[GordonBlue]

Originally Posted by All In Good Time

perhaps I'm just too old
but
I don't have a lot of time for the "I didn't play professional hockey very well because (X) didn't like me" take
There was a time when professional athletes took pride in their strength and their ability to overcome adversity. its a profession not a participation ribbon pastime
The fact is, it didn't work here, it didn't look like it was going to work here and he moved on and is doing well in a different situation.
Do I think the Coyotes are going to be a contender soon? no
Is he top 4 here? I don't think so
is he top 4 on a true contender? I highly doubt it
will he grow into that? perhaps

your thinking is old, perhaps.
I'm glad we're getting past the time when it's not only accepted but expected a coach would be abusive. Someone was supposed to "man up" , play through injuries, sacrifice everything for the team, perhaps end up crippled in later life or with addictions, not deal with mental health issues, etc.

the world evolves. sports should too.

[jlh2640]

He didn’t even come close to deserving a job here. But he should’ve been kept over Mackey. The reality is. He will never ever be anywhere close to a top 4 dman. And if the bizarre Kylington absence doesn’t happen. Then I’m not so sure Mackey is here either.

[Buff]

Originally Posted by jlh2640

He didn’t even come close to deserving a job here. But he should’ve been kept over Mackey. The reality is. He will never ever be anywhere close to a top 4 dman. And if the bizarre Kylington absence doesn’t happen. Then I’m not so sure Mackey is here either.

Why? Because he was a former 1st round pick? Valimaki kept regressing and wasn't even a top 4 d on the farm team while Mackey showed enough to be a 7th defender on the NHL team. Based on merit Mackey deserved to be here over Valimaki. Mackey stumbled this year but before the decision came to put Valimaki on waivers the decision was an easy one.

[jlh2640]

Originally Posted by Buff

Why? Because he was a former 1st round pick? Valimaki kept regressing and wasn't even a top 4 d on the farm team while Mackey showed enough to be a 7th defender on the NHL team. Based on merit Mackey deserved to be here over Valimaki. Mackey stumbled this year but before the decision came to put Valimaki on waivers the decision was an easy one.

I mean you are not wrong, I think more in the upside aspect. But he was way more expensive and displayed none of that upside last year or this year early.

[Buff]

Originally Posted by jlh2640

I mean you are not wrong, I think more in the upside aspect. But he was way more expensive and displayed none of that upside last year or this year early.

Can't really look at many decisions with hindsight. When you decide to risk losing a player you risk that player finding their game in another organization. You risk the player you keep becoming a total flop. Based on the information they had they were making the best decision. We will never know if Valimaki would have turned it round here or not but the signs all pointed to no. There is still a big question mark with Valimaki. Can he do well in a higher pressure situation?

[Enoch Root]

Mackey outplayed Valimaki in Stockton last year. And he was better in training camp and early play this year. Valimaki did nothing to convince the Flames that his higher cost was worth it. So they made the decision.

Pretty straight-forward, and trying to suggest that the Flames did anything wrong, or were somehow responsible, is unfounded, IMO

[Hockey-and_stuff]

Originally Posted by Enoch Root

Mackey outplayed Valimaki in Stockton last year. And he was better in training camp and early play this year. Valimaki did nothing to convince the Flames that his higher cost was worth it. So they made the decision.

Pretty straight-forward, and trying to suggest that the Flames did anything wrong, or were somehow responsible, is unfounded, IMO

So the org is just infallible? They didn't make any mistakes in development?

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[Enoch Root]

Originally Posted by Hockey-and_stuff

So the org is just infallible? They didn't make any mistakes in development?

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Is that what I said? I don't think that's what I said.

[Paulie Walnuts]

Originally Posted by Enoch Root

Mackey outplayed Valimaki in Stockton last year. And he was better in training camp and early play this year. Valimaki did nothing to convince the Flames that his higher cost was worth it. So they made the decision.

Pretty straight-forward, and trying to suggest that the Flames did anything wrong, or were somehow responsible, is unfounded, IMO

With Oliver missing camp he had the opportunity to steal a spot, he couldn't even outplay a guy like Stone.

[Paulie Walnuts]

Originally Posted by Hockey-and_stuff

So the org is just infallible? They didn't make any mistakes in development?

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Not sure what mistakes have been made.

High ankle sprain which is difficult to recover from. Tore his ACL training which I guess it was Trelivings fault since he took a sledgehammer to his knee.

Gotta blame the Flames for Covid as well because thats when his comeback was for during Covid.

So how exactly was he held back?

[Hockey-and_stuff]

I'm not assigning any of those issues to the Flames. You're doing that.

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[Paulie Walnuts]

Originally Posted by Hockey-and_stuff

I'm not assigning any of those issues to the Flames. You're doing that.

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I have blamed the Flames for not developing him?

What did the Flames do to hold back Vali?

[PepsiFree]

Originally Posted by Enoch Root

Is that what I said? I don't think that's what I said.

In this case, it really isn’t what you said! lol

I don’t know why people struggle with the concept of something being no-fault, especially in the game of hockey where even player development has so many variables that are impossible to control.

Like, do people think the Flames were high giving because Valimaki got claimed? Obviously not. They probably regret it in hindsight, but no honest person is going to look at that situation and say they would have done different.

Maybe the lesson is to keep former 1st rounders on the NHL roster when they’re waiver eligible even if they’re barely playing at an AHL level? Is that what people want the lesson to be?

[Vedder]

Big Sven Baertschi vibes in this thread. Valimaki was given lots of opportunity here, and was actually in the opening night lineup last season. He played his way out of a spot and was surpassed by Kylington. Perhaps just a confidence issue and a bad fit in Calgary.

Still seems to take a lot of penalties for a guy who isn’t overly physical. Skating and positioning still an issue?