Calgary Flames sign Michael Stone after buying him out earlier
After buying out defenseman MichaelStone, the Calgary Flames have re-signed him to a one-year deal thanks to a CBA loophole.
What a wild summer its been for defenseman Michael Stone. After the Calgary Flames placed Stone on waivers August 1st, and bought out the remainder of his $3.5 million dollar cap hit, the Flames have (re) signed Stone to a one year deal worth $700,000.
It almost looked like the 6’3″, 210 pound defenseman would be without a job in the NHL. Shortly into August though, the Flames were faced with unwelcoming news involving one of their up and coming blue liners. 20- year-old Finnish defenseman, Juuso Valimaki, suffered a torn ACL during his off season training. He has since been listed as month to month by Flames GM Brad Treliving.
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The hardest part about the Flames losing Valimaki, will certainly be the fact that the youngster was really getting comfortable at the pro levels, and he adjusted quite nicely in his rookie year.
Valimaki dressed for 24 games with the Flames last season, where he registered a goal and two assists. He also played 20 games with the Flames AHL team, the Stockton Heat. With the Heat, he racked up four goals and 10 assists.
Last season was certainly tough for Michael Stone. Just a month into the 2018-19 season, Flames medical staff discovered a blood clot in Stone’s arm. It was an extremely scary situation that kept the 29-year-old out of the lineup for the majority of the season.
Stone played just 14 regular season games with the Flames, where he registered five assists and zero goals. Despite a difficult year due to being sidelined, Stone knows he has lots left to give in terms of producing.
Stone has played 439 games in the NHL, splitting those games between Arizona and Calgary. In those 439 outings, he’s deposited 29 goals and 88 assists to total for 117 points. Stone wants fans to know he means business too. Pat Steinberg of Sportsnet Flames radio The Fan 960 spoke with Stone just after the news broke, and Stone said “last year im going to toss and start fresh. I know im an NHL player, I hope people realize that too.”
He also said he’ll be entering camp with a chip on his shoulder too. Stone will need to enter camp with a chip on his shoulder like he described if he wants to prove to the Flames brass that he can play consistently. The Flames already have Giordano, Brodie, Hanifin, Hamonic, Kylington, and Andersson on defense.
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Having Stone around certainly does add a sense of security and peace of mind for the Flames coaching staff in terms of any future injuries to the blue line if one was to happen. Valimaki will need time down in the minors once he’s cleared to play again, but having Stone around means the Flames are getting back a trusted d-man who can eat up minutes, add a physical presence, as well as produce points if he can gel with his line mates and stay healthy.