Utah’s Juuso Valimaki to miss 8-9 months after ACL surgery

The Utah Hockey Club announced Monday that defenseman Juuso Valimaki will be sidelined for the next eight-to-nine months after undergoing knee surgery.

Through 43 appearances with Utah this season, Valimaki has scored twice and added three assists for five points coupled with 14 penalty minutes and a minus-five rating. On the season, Valimaki ranks seventh among Utah defensemen in averaging 16:33 ice time per game.

Assigned to the AHL affiliated Tucson Roadrunners in late February after clearing waivers, Valimaki suffered a knee injury in his first game with the minor-league club.

Prior to the team’s shift to Utah, Valimaki spent two seasons with the former Arizona Coyotes, highlighted by the 2022-23 campaign where through 78 appearances he set a career-high 34 points counting four goals and 30 assists.

More recently, the 26-year-old rearguard joined his native Finland at the 4 Nations Face-Off, but did not see any game action. Valimaki had previously claimed silver and gold medal wins with Finland at the 2015 and 2016 IIHF Under-18 World Championships, respectively. A standout defenseman in the junior circuit, Valimaki was also twice named to the WHL’s Western Conference Second All-Star Team during his time with the Tri-City Americans.

Originally chosen 16th overall by the Calgary Flames in the 2017 NHL Draft, through 271 career contests split between the Flames, Coyotes, and Utah, Valimaki has totaled 11 goals and 61 assists for 72 points. In October 2022, Valimaki joined Arizona after being claimed off waivers from Calgary.

Per PuckPedia, Valimaki is in the first year of a two-year pact that carries a $2-million annual average value.

For Utah, on the season the team sits 28-25-10 and four points back of the Flames for the second wildcard seed in the Western Conference. Utah will look to continue its playoff push when the squad returns to the ice Monday to take on the Toronto Maple Leafs.