Calgary Flames: Juuso Valimaki out indefinitely after ACL injury

Calgary Flames defenseman Juuso Valimaki will be out for an indefinite period of time after suffering an ACL tear during training.

The Calgary Flames got some very bad news on Aug. 12, 2019. They announced young defenseman Juuso Valimaki will miss an indefinite period of time after tearing his ACL while training.

This injury is to his right knee and it will require surgery. It sounds like it’s a tear, which should keep him out for at least the first half of the 2019-20 season and will likely cause him to miss the entire season.

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Valimaki was expected to compete for a role on the Flames third pairing. The recent buy out of Michael Stone presumably left a spot wide open for him there. However, the ACL injury will most likely leave the Flames without Valimaki for the entire season.

Last season, Valimaki played in 24 games for Calgary. He put up three points. With the Stockton Heat, the Flames AHL affiliate, Valimaki put up 14 points in 20 games. The 20-year-old defenseman is in the second season of his entry-level contract.

What’s Next For The Flames?

Losing Valimaki is significant for Calgary. They were expecting him to help lead the third defensive pairings. Internally, Oliver Kylington is probably the best replacement. He put up eight points in 38 games with the Flames last season. In the AHL, Kylington played in 18 games, tallying 14 points.

Brandon Davidson, who was signed on July 1, could also compete for a spot on the Flames roster. He has a $750,000 cap hit, which means he’s cheap. That’s not insignificant, as the Flames still have to re-sign restricted free agents Matthew Tkachuk and Andrew Mangiapane. Davidson will likely be the seventh defenseman.

Rinat Valiev and Andrew Nielsen are among their other depth options. Valiev put up 21 points in 57 games with the Stockton Heat. Meanwhile, Nielsen was acquired from the Toronto Maple Leafs in November of 2018. He put up four points in 29 games for the Heat.

If the Flames aren’t satisfied with their internal options, there are some external options out there. Dion Phaneuf and Andrew MacDonald were both bought out recently. The former used to play for the Flames, so he might be a fit. Ben Lovejoy and Joe Morrow are among the other interesting UFA options.

Then, of course, there are trade options. The Washington Capitals might be willing to listen to offers for Christian Djoos, as they are currently over the salary cap and have a surplus of NHL defensemen. Other teams might have surplus defensemen they’d be willing to trade as well.