Arizona Coyotes sign Juuso Valimaki to one-year contract extension

The Arizona Coyotes have announced the signing of Juuso Valimaki to a one-year contract extension. The exact terms of the contract were not disclosed by the team but according to Elliotte Friedman the contract is worth $1 million.

“We are very pleased to sign Juuso to a one-year extension,” said Coyotes general manager Doug Armstrong. “He is a big, strong, two-way defenseman who has been a great addition to our defensive corps. We look forward to having him on our roster next season.”

Valimaki has played the 2022-23 season with the Arizona Coyotes after being claimed off of waivers from the Calgary Flames in October. He has two goals and 12 points in 43 games in Arizona. The Tampere, Finland native is in the final year of the two-year contract he signed with the Calgary Flames which earned him $1.55 million annually.

Valimaki ranks seventh on the Coyotes in average ice-time as a depth defenseman. He plays about 15 minutes per night on a pairing with J.J. Moser. As a defensive pairing, Valimaki and Moser have a 54.2% expected goals percentage which is by far the best on the Coyotes.

Originally selected 16th overall by the Flames in 2017, Valimaki was a big part of their future plans for many years. However, due to injuries and bad luck he was never able to solidify his place on the Flames’ back end. He ended up stuck behind Rasmus Andersson, Noah Hanifin, Christopher Tanev, Oliver Kylington, Nikita Zadorov, and Erik Gudbranson on the Flames depth chart.

Since coming over to Arizona he has earned a spot on the rebuilding squad. The 24-year-old defenseman is finally an injury-free, everyday NHL defenseman and the Coyotes have rewarded him for it with a contract extension.

In his career he has five goals and 28 points in 125 games along with 68 penalty minutes and a -14 rating.