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Expansion

Seattle Kraken Add To Scouting Department

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The Seattle Kraken have added two more names to their ever-expanding scouting department, hiring Chris MacDonald and Eddie Olczyk Jr. The NHL’s 32nd franchise has continued to bring in experience and ability to the front office as they prepare to debut in 2021-22. The organization has announced dozens of hires over the last few months.

MacDonald comes to the team after serving as director of European amateur scouting with the Arizona Coyotes and previously working with the Vancouver Canucks. In the Kraken release, it makes sure to highlight MacDonald’s work with building the young core of the Canucks as he was part of the group that drafted players like Bo Horvat, Elias Pettersson, and Quinn Hughes.

Olczyk Jr. obviously comes with some name recognition, given his father’s long playing and broadcasting career. He’ll be helping the Kraken scout the USHL especially after spending several years as an assistant coach with Bemidji State.

While the pro scouts that will help the Kraken develop their expansion draft strategy are incredibly important to the team’s immediate success, it’s easy to forget just how much impact those amateur scouts had in the early days of the Vegas Golden Knights. While the team obviously put together a group of NHL players that went to the Stanley Cup Finals right away, the draft picks they acquired in that first season have been integral to keeping the Golden Knights at the top of the standings. Remember, both Nick Suzuki and Erik Brannstrom were first-round selections of the Golden Knights in 2017 before being flipped as the main assets in trades for Max Pacioretty and Mark Stone. This time around it may be even more important for the Kraken to draft well right from the start, given the experience NHL managers now have with the expansion process.

Expansion Draft Signing Coming For Anaheim Ducks

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This offseason, not only are teams navigating a flat salary cap, reduced revenues, and the uncertainty of when next season will even begin, they also have to consider the upcoming expansion draft when the Seattle Kraken select 30 players and become the league’s 32nd franchise. The Vegas Golden Knights will not be forced to lose a player, but also don’t get a piece of the expansion fee, which could be very beneficial to teams at the moment.

In that expansion draft, there are various rules and requirements that must be met. One of them is that the team must expose at least one eligible goaltender who is signed through the 2021-22 season or a restricted free agent in the 2021 offseason. At least partly because of this rule, you’ve seen goaltenders like Dan Vladar, Dustin Tokarski, Kevin Lankinen, Hunter Miska, Keith Kinkaid, Michael Hutchinson, and several others receive multi-year contracts in an offseason where veteran NHL skaters can’t even find a job. It’s not that these goalies can’t be valuable additions to their organizations, it’s that the leverage required to land a multi-year agreement was a little tilted this fall.

With that rule in mind, it’s easy to see that the Anaheim Ducks will have to make a move at some point in the next few months to secure a depth option of their own. Currently, the only two goaltenders in their organization eligible for selection in the expansion draft are Anthony Stolarz, whose contract expires after this season, and John Gibson, their star netminder who will undoubtedly need protection.

Stolarz doesn’t fill the requirement at the moment, meaning a contract of some sort will have to come down the pipeline. For the 26-year-old, that might mean some added job security in the form of an extension given it might be hard to bring in another goaltender at this point. Not because they aren’t on the market, but because the Ducks may not want to clog up their minor leagues with bodies, taking away playing time from prospects like Lukas Dostal should he come to North America this season. An extension for Stolarz would get the job done and given how well he played at the AHL level last season it also may be well deserved.

Another interesting situation to keep an eye on with regards to the expansion draft is the New York Islanders, who currently only have one goaltender even eligible for selection. Since Ilya Sorokin can’t even be picked because of his lack of experience, the Islanders will also need another netminder if they want to protect Semyon Varlamov. Of course, they could also just leave him unprotected and decide not to protect any goaltender at all (don’t put anything past Lou Lamoriello) if they felt he might draw some attention away from the interesting forwards that may be available in New York.

At any rate, there are sure to be another few goaltending signings that raise some eyebrows over the next few months, if only for the length of the contract being handed out.

Seattle Kraken Will Wait To Name Head Coach

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Although the Seattle Kraken are set to take the ice as the NHL’s 32nd franchise in less than a year, the team is in no rush to name their inaugural head coach. The team did not hesitate to get a jump on hiring a GM, landing Ron Francis in July of 2019, but now Francis tells The Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun that the team is willing to wait on their next major personnel decision.

We don’t know yet the kind of team we may be able to draft, so we’re comfortable kind of sitting back and waiting right now and watching what happens here. There’s still, hopefully, a 2020-21 season getting up and running and playing. Are there guys that end up losing their jobs or looking for other things elsewhere? I just think we have time on this. We’re not in a race to make that decision at this point.

The sentiment makes sense and actually should not come as much of a surprise; the Vegas Golden Knights did not name Gerard Gallant (who is currently available) as their head coach until April of 2017, just two months ahead of the 2017 Expansion Draft. With the high likelihood of another NHL season that could run later into the calendar year than usual, given the delayed start, Seattle would still have many months left before making a coaching decision in order to keep to Vegas’ timeline.

However, Francis does mention that Seattle can begin making roster transactions prior to the Expansion Draft, stating that they will officially become a member of the league with player movement abilities once their final expansion payment in made to the league early next year. That of course raises a chicken-and-egg debate: do they hire a coach and base their early signings and trades on his style or do they make moves and then find a coach who might best fit those players and their 2021 Expansion Draft targets?

With that in mind, LeBrun asks Francis whether he has interviewed any candidates yet for head coach. Francis refused to answer, so make of that what you will. He did hint that the team is starting to get a better idea of who might be available in the expansion draft next off-season and how that could drive the team’s philosophy and whether that pairs with any available head coaches, so a coaching move could be on the horizon.

I think we’re getting closer to having an idea now that we’ve gotten through a little bit of the free agency. There could still be moves before the NHL hopefully gets up and running. Things become a little bit clearer as far as what you think may or may not be available, and then you start having those discussions with teams and try to get an indication on what may or may not be available. So I think once you get more into that process a little bit more, we’ll have a better indication (of their roster approach/philosophy). You always want to win now, but we’ll have to judge the landscape and see where things are and make the decisions that are right both short term and long term.

Why Taylor Hall Will Be The Can’t-Miss UFA In 2021 That He Expected To Be In 2020

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Taylor Hall is certainly not complaining about making $8MM this season. Considering that the flat salary cap has depressed the market to the point that only four unrestricted free agents have signed deals with an AAV of $6MM or more this off-season – and Hall is the only forward to do so – the talented winger is likely content with his pact with the Buffalo Sabres. For now, that is. Heading into the 2019-20 season, even $8MM seemed like a low cap hit for Hall’s next deal and no one would have guessed that he would settle for a one-year deal. This was not the free agent frenzy and massive long-term deal expected for the Hart Trophy winner. However, one year could make all the difference.

Hall, 28, is one of the few players in the NHL who should not be content with an $8MM valuation. The 2010 first overall pick, Hall has scored at a rate of .9 points per game over his ten-year career, including four seasons at over a point per game and no seasons below .74 since his rookie year. A five-time 20-goal scorer, including 39 tallies (and 93 points) in his 2017-18 MVP season, Hall is a proven scorer in the NHL. A player who has also proven that he can excel on poor teams in which he is the undisputed best player, Hall has managed all of this production through rebuilds with the Edmonton Oilers and New Jersey Devils. The ceiling is limitless of what Hall could do on a talented contender.

Given the New Jersey Devils’ rebuild status entering the 2019-20 season, Hall had long been speculated to hit the open market once his contract expired. The Devils pursued a contract extension with their star forward, but to no avail. Perhaps Hall’s injury-plagued 33-game season in 2018-19 played a role in the Devils reluctance to ante up or maybe it was Hall who decided he had done enough for rebuilding squads. Regardless of the reason, Hall was traded in December. However, rather than joining a legitimate playoff team, Hall joined the fringe Arizona Coyotes and again took on the responsibility of being the team’s best player. The result of the whole season was 52 points in 65 games, a strong season for most but a disappointment for Hall as a steep drop-off in per-game production compared to his prior two seasons.

With an injury dominating his 2018-19 campaign and poor results (by his standards) to show for 2019-20, Hall’s MVP status had taken a hit two years removed from winning the Hart. It showed on the open market, as teams were not willing to hand out a long-term, big-money deal to a player that they would not have hesitated to hand a blank check not long ago. The flat cap also didn’t help, as teams have been risk-averse this off-season and not willing to sacrifice cap space by getting into bidding wars. Hall still had multiple offers, but by all accounts they were one-year or short-term offers at below market value.

How does the superstar winger rebound? It begins with the team he decided to sign with. Although it seemingly came out of nowhere, Hall’s decision to join the Buffalo Sabres could prove to be a stroke of genius. Joining Jack Eichel on the Sabres’ top line, Hall with finally play with an elite center for the first time in his career. Eichel’s per-game scoring numbers have improved in each of his five NHL seasons and he has been a point-per-game or better for two years in a row. With Hall at his side, that trend will only continue. Barring an injury, both players have 100-point upside this season.

There is one factor that could interrupt the dynamic scoring potential of Hall and Eichel and that is a trade. Even with the dangerous duo, the Sabres are still unlikely to challenge for a playoff spot and Hall may find himself back on the trade block at the 2021 deadline. However, another smart move made by Hall and his camp was to get a No-Movement Clause on his one-year deal. Unlike the moves to New Jersey and Arizona that Hall had no say in, if a trade is made this year, it will have to be with his approval. Aware of now the deadline move to the Coyotes failed to help his market value, Hall will be careful to choose a team where he can continue to score while finally making a deep run in the playoffs.

Once he is finally a free agent once more, and almost certainly coming off a strong season barring unforeseen circumstances, Hall will also benefit from a market with less competing talent. The 2021 free agent class does not have an Alex Pietrangelo to overshadow Hall. Alex Ovechkin is the biggest potential name, but he will almost certainly re-sign with the Washington Capitals and if not will not command a major deal at 35 years old. Other top forwards include Gabriel Landeskog, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Jaden Schwartz, Tomas Tatar, and veterans like Ryan Getzlaf, David Krejci, and soon-to-be Buffalo teammate Eric Staal. These are all fine players, but no one to rival Hall barring a breakout season. The defense and goalie markets are lacking any star players in their prime that could attract suitors away from spending on Hall.

Not only will he likely standout as the top free agent available, but Hall will also have more suitors who can afford his services. With more notice and time to plan for cap management, even a long-term, possibly double-digit AAV deal for Hall will be easier for teams to swallow. The need could be greater as well; the 2021 NHL Expansion Draft threatens to strip a number of teams of scorers and they may turn to Hall as the best possible replacement. Expansion also adds one more team to the mix, as the Seattle Kraken could not make a bigger splash in their first season than adding the free agent market’s biggest name.

And what about the possibility that Buffalo wants to keep Hall beyond this season? It may have been a different administration in charge, but the Sabres just recently showed a willingness to pay up for a player that they had invested in when they signed Jeff Skinner to an eight-year, $72MM contract after acquiring him via trade. While the Sabres may already have $19MM invested in Eichel Skinner per season for years to come, they were willing to include Hall to make that $27MM this season and might not shy away from $30MM+ per year for their top three forwards.

The future is bright for Hall one way or another. It may not have been the off-season result that he or anyone else expected at this time last year, but at this time next year Hall will very likely beginning the next stage of his career on a lucrative long-term deal. How he gets there will be one of the best stories to follow in the coming NHL season.

Matiss Kivlenieks Re-Signs With Columbus Blue Jackets

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The Columbus Blue Jackets have re-signed some of their goaltending depth, reaching a two-year deal with Matiss Kivlenieks. The contract is two-way and gives the Blue Jackets a goaltender to leave exposed for the upcoming Seattle expansion draft.

In that case, the Blue Jackets are in a perfect situation even if they keep both their NHL goalies. Joonas Korpisalo is eligible for the expansion draft but Elvis Merzlikins isn’t, meaning they don’t have to make the decision on which one to keep this offseason if they don’t want. Both Korpisalo and Merzlikins have been in trade rumors over the last few weeks because of players like Kivlenieks, who is an interesting prospect in his own right.

Now 24, the undrafted Latvian netminder has been in the Columbus system for three years now. He has been inconsistent in the minor leagues but did at least hold his own in six NHL games this season. No, that .898 save percentage is not what you’re hoping for at the highest level, but in terms of a depth option that could be number four on the chart, it’s certainly no disaster.

The Blue Jackets also have Veini Vehvilainen and Daniil Tarasov under contract, meaning even if they do trade one of their NHL netminders the system still has enough talent to stand up. Kivlenieks will likely go back to the minor leagues when things get started, but now that he’s signed it seems probable that he’ll be loaned overseas like Vehvilainen and Tarasov.

Florida Panthers Part Ways With GM Dale Tallon

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Aug 10: The Panthers have officially parted ways with Tallon, announcing that a search for their next GM has begun. In a short statement, owner Vinnie Viola explained what Tallon has meant for the club and why they were now moving on:

For the last decade, Dale raised the team’s profile, attracted key players to South Florida and brought character and class to our franchise. When we purchased the Panthers in 2013, we did so with a singular goal–to win a Stanley Cup. We have not seen our efforts come to fruition. We will now begin an organizational search for the next general manager.

Aug 7: The Florida Panthers were very unlikely to have made the playoffs this season under the standard format and few gave them a chance of an upset over the stout defense of the New York Islanders in the qualifying round. Yet, the organization is still not taking their elimination earlier today lightly. Fox Sports’ Andy Strickland reports that the hammer is set to drop on long-time executive Dale Tallon. The team is expected to move on from their GM shortly.

Tallon, hired as GM in Florida in 2010, had previously served in the same role with the Chicago Blackhawks and had a hand in the team’s Stanley Cup win the season prior to his departure. Tallon served as GM for the Panthers until 2016, when he was elevated to President of Hockey Operations. He then resumed GM duties as well in 2018. Having been around for a decade, Tallon’s influence can be found in every corner of the roster, even in long-time homegrown stars Aleksander Barkov, Jonathan Huberdeau, and Aaron Ekblad, who were all drafted by Tallon.

However, Tallon’s mistakes have also made a lasting impression on the roster. This past off-season in particular, Tallon gambled with the Panthers’ salary cap space, spending big on goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky, forward Brett Connolly, and defenseman Anton Stralman. It is hard to argue that any of the three have lived up to expectations in yet another disappointing season for the franchise, which has not won a playoff series since 1996. Yet, they are all multi-year deals and will continue to impact the team for seasons still to come. With little cap space heading into this off-season, top scorers like Mike Hoffman and Evgenii Dadonov could prove difficult to re-sign and the club could take another step backward next season. Other lasting mistakes have included a botched Expansion Draft strategy that saw the team give away Reilly Smith in order to ensure Jonathan Marchessault was selected by the Vegas Golden Knights, only to see both become reliable top-six forwards, not getting enough for forward Vincent Trocheck from the Carolina Hurricanes at the trade deadline this year, and simply flip-flopping on their organizational strategy too frequently.

In finding Tallon’s replacement, the Panthers need to find someone with a long-term outlook on the position and a concrete plan on how they will rebuild the club. Having made just three playoff appearances in the past ten years, Florida fans will likely be happy to miss the postseason for another year or two if it means sustained success down the road. That could start with some lottery luck in the form of the No. 1 overall pick and Alexis Lafreniere. Maximizing their four picks in the first three rounds one way or another will also be imperative for the new GM in his first draft. Finding a way to shed some dead weight salary and to add much-needed depth at all positions will also be key.

Not all of Tallon’s tenure in Florida has been bad – including the aforementioned homegrown standouts and a pair of division titles – but at the end of the day the Panthers have had no postseason success and they have their work cut out for them to change that any time soon. Tallon’s replacement will have plenty of work to do to undo some of the GM’s mistakes and to reverse the curse on the Florida franchise.

32nd NHL Franchise Named Seattle Kraken

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Say hello to the Seattle Kraken. The new expansion franchise and 32nd NHL team has officially announced its name after months of anticipation. The team will go with a blue and teal color scheme as they prepare to join the league for the 2021-22 season. They will play at Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle, where a full reconstruction of the old KeyArena is taking place.

After the success of the Vegas Golden Knights, it quickly became apparent that the league would be looking for another strong ownership group to bring the 32nd franchise into play. When high-profile financial backers like David Bonderman and Jerry Bruckheimer partnered with sports executive Tod Leiweke, that group was an obvious choice. Seattle as a market had been explored in the past and when the arena work was started it was obvious that an NHL team would follow.

The Kraken are expected to join the Pacific Division for the 2021-22 season, with the Arizona Coyotes switching to the Central at that time. There is an obvious geographical rivalry with the Vancouver Canucks that will likely be pushed by the league, but it’s hard to know just how well Seattle will navigate the expansion process.

The Golden Knights were one of the greatest expansion stories in sports history, making it all the way to the Stanley Cup Finals in their inaugural season. That’s thanks to the exceptional roster they built through savvy expansion draft maneuvers, something that may not be quite as easy for Seattle to accomplish.

Teams will have plenty of time to prepare their rosters for the draft—which will have the same rules, although Vegas will not take part—in order to not hand over the same kind of leverage to the Kraken. That said, with the flat salary cap there may be even more cash-strapped teams looking for help, something that Seattle GM Ron Francis could take advantage of.

According to Leiweke in today’s press conference, Seattle has already received over 10,000 season-ticket deposits and has more than 40,000 people on the waiting list.

Seattle Expansion Franchise Set To Unveil Name On Thursday

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The wait is finally over. At least, it seems that way. In a cryptic video shared on Twitter on Wednesday night, NHL Seattle announced that “the 32nd franchise comes to life” tomorrow, Thursday July 23 at 12pm ET/9am PT. While this was all the information that the team disclosed, they have additionally scheduled a press conference for the morning to announce “significant news”. It is expected that the franchise will reveal their name, as well as quite possibly their logo, colors, and perhaps even their jerseys.

As for the video accompanying the vague news, several hints can be inferred about a  possible name. The video shows a group of fishermen in Seattle’s Puget Sound bringing in their nets only to discover a red goal light, which begins to glow when a ship in the distance blows its horn. Barring a major misdirect, this all but confirms an aquatic theme for Seattle’s moniker. Hockey has arrived in Seattle and it came by sea.

So what might the name be? One of the more popular options among fans has been “Kraken”, the giant sea monster of folklore. Could the fisherman in the video asking “what is that?” about their haul indicate that the aquatic mascot is of a mysterious nature? Possibly. Could this video just be part one before the Kraken attacks the boat in part two? Maybe. However, the far more likely result is that the fishing theme of the video, coupled with the same aqua and salmon coloring in the net that the team has used in previous advertising, indicates that the name will be “Sockeye” or “Sockeyes”. The salmon species that is iconic in the area has been another popular possibility for the team name and the club’s video hint does little to dissuade the idea that this is the mascot that has been selected. However, we will find out for sure one way or another on Thursday.

Poll: Who Is Most Deserving Of The No. 1 Pick?

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We asked and you voted and the Pittsburgh Penguins are the team that readers least want to see win the No. 1 overall pick in the 2020 NHL Entry Draft by means of a second draft lottery. The Penguins were closely followed by the Toronto Maple Leafs and Edmonton Oilers and unsurprisingly these are three teams loaded with star power who finished in the top-five among teams in the qualifying round. Yet, the Carolina Hurricanes, who hold the second best record among qualifying round teams, gained just 1% of the vote, while the Montreal Canadiens and Chicago Blackhawks, the worst teams to qualify from each conference, finished fourth and fifth respectively in voting. This begs the question: who do you think is most deserving of the top pick?

Obviously, with the NHL Draft Lottery playing out as it did with each of the league’s bottom seven teams missing out on the top slot, the most deserving teams like the Detroit Red Wings, Ottawa Senators, or Buffalo Sabres won’t be an option for No. 1 this year. Instead, it will be one of the to-be-determined playoff teams out of the 16 who will play in a “knockout round” to open the expanded 24-team playoff field. All of these teams finished above .500 this season, so a good team will only get better in the form of Alexis Lafreniere, the elite talent at the top of the draft board. All eight losers of the qualifying round will have even odds in a second running of the lottery, but which franchise is most deserving of this boost?

The NHL has no shortage of teams with a history of losing, but the Florida Panthers have a strong argument for the title of unluckiest. Florida, who entered the league in 1993, has just 18 playoff wins in franchise history. A dozen of those wins came in the team’s run to the Stanley Cup Final in 1996, in which they were swept by the Colorado Avalanche. The remaining six wins have come in just four playoff series over the past 22 season, none of which have been won by the Cats. This series win drought is the longest current streak in the NHL. The team has also struggled with attendance over the years, due both to location and performance. The Panthers finished just 29th in capacity attendance this season and could use a young star player to draw more fans. The current Florida roster is not without talent but is strapped for cap space and set to lose some strong players in free agency. An affordable entry level deal for a top pick would go a long way to keep the Panthers competitive in the Atlantic Division.

The Winnipeg Jets have improved since moving from Atlanta, but the team’s legacy is still one of failure. The Thrashers franchise, which has since become the second iteration of the Jets, entered the league in 1999. In 19 seasons, the club has qualified for the playoffs just four times and has won only 11 games and two series. Like the Panthers, the bulk of those wins came in just one postseason as the Jets won nine games in 2017-18. Unlike Florida, they have never appeared in a Stanley Cup Final. The Jets playoff fortunes have increased since leaving Atlanta, where they failed to win a single postseason game in more than a decade. The club may be able to figure out how to get to their first Cup Final without luck, but playing in a remote city with a passionate but small fan base limits the Jets financially and they could definitely use an affordable superstar like Lafreniere, even though the roster already contains a number of strong young players.

The Columbus Blue Jackets have an identical 11-20 playoff record to the Thrashers/Jets and seeing as how they entered the league one year later in 2000, it would seem they have been slightly more successful. Additionally, all of those wins have come within the past six seasons and the team has qualified in each of the past three years. However, the Blue Jackets have the unfortunate distinction of never coming close to a Stanley Cup in a way that no other NHL team can claim. Columbus has won just one playoff series – just last year in fact – in their existence, the fewest in NHL history, and in that season was eliminated ten wins short of a title, the furthest distance that any team can claim is their best. Columbus also lost three of their best players from the team that finally won a series last season. The Blue Jackets may be improving, but their fans have seen less playoff success than any team in the NHL and their roster is not one that seem likely to produce a Stanley Cup any time soon. Lafreniere would be a boost to the franchise the likes of which have never been seen.

The Blue Jackets’ partners in the 2000 Expansion class, the Minnesota Wild presented a return to the State of Hockey for the NHL and have always had the benefit of immense fan support. Yet, the Wild have struggled to give their fans much to truly root for. While their 26 playoff wins since they entered the league is far better than some of their peers, Minnesota has never made it to the Stanley Cup Final and were swept out of their lone Western Conference Final appearance, which came back in 2002-03. Minnesota has largely been a one-and-done team, winning just four playoff series in their existence. Regular season success can only get you so far and it would be good for the team and the league for Minnesota to see some more results in the postseason. The timing could not be better to land Lafreniere either; the Wild snapped a six-season playoff appearance streak last year and their roster is one of the oldest in the league. The team could desperately use a young centerpiece.

The original Winnipeg Jets, who moved to Phoenix and became the Arizona Coyotes in 1996, also deserve inclusion among teams who could use some luck. The Coyotes franchise is the oldest to have never appeared in a Stanley Cup Final, dating back to the Jets’ birth in 1979-80. In that time, they have just 41 playoff wins overall have qualified for the postseason just three times in the past 16 years. They have one of the longest active postseason droughts in the NHL, dating back seven years. The team also has the very unfortunate distinction of having the highest cap payroll in the league this season while placing just 28th in capacity percentage attendance. While star players have been a part of the franchise from time to time throughout its history, the current roster is lacking a young superstar, which is exactly what they need to increase fan interest as well as affordably improve their roster. Lafreniere would be the perfect fit.

As for other teams, the Toronto Maple Leafs have the longest active Stanley Cup drought at 51 years and are second only two Florida with a playoff series win drought of 14 years, so while they have a young, loaded roster, they may still deserve some sympathy. Similarly, while the Montreal Canadiens are the winningest team in NHL history and don’t need any more titles just yet, they are technically the worst team in the qualifying round and could desperately use the boost, as maintaining relevancy in the 21st century has proved difficult for the once-great franchise. The Vancouver Canucks are the oldest team never to have won the Stanley Cup and got painfully close with a Game Seven loss in the 2011 Final and have not won a series ever since. The Nashville Predators have also never won the Stanley Cup, but have gotten close. Like several other teams, sustained success in Nashville would have a beneficial affect on grassroots hockey. Finally, the New York Islanders are a strong team this year and have staying power in the Metropolitan Division, but their glory days of the 80’s are long gone and they have not made a Cup Final appearance in 35 seasons. Lafreniere landing in the New York market could also be great exposure for the game.

What do you think? Which team is most deserving of the No. 1 pick?

[Mobile users vote here]

Juuso Valimaki Unlikely To Re-Join Flames This Year

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While there is an ever-growing list of players previously deemed to be out for the season that are now appearing likely to be available to their respective teams at some point in the upcoming expanded postseason, don’t expect young Calgary Flames defenseman Juuso Valimaki to join the trend. Sportsnet’s Eric Francis reports that Valimaki, who has missed the whole 2019-20 season, is not likely to re-join the Flames in their qualifying round match-up with the Winnipeg Jets or at any point in the playoffs should they advance. The risk, both to the player and team, outweigh the potential gains in this situation and Francis does not believe that Calgary will take the chance.

Health continues to be the major issue at hand when it comes to Valimaki. The 21-year-old defenseman suffered a torn ACL in his right knee during off-season training last summer. He underwent surgery in late August. By all accounts, including that of Flames GM Brad Treliving, recovery and rehab from ACL reconstruction is ten months to a year. While Valimaki has been participating in voluntary skates with his teammates in Calgary, he has yet to be medically cleared by the team’s medical staff. If he is on pace for the latter end of that expected timeline, Valimaki would not be prepared for game action by the time the knockout round is set to begin and would have to prove he is up to the physical requirements of playoff hockey should the Flames advance.

However, the non-medical reason behind not playing Valimaki may be even more compelling. As Francis details, Calgary has more long-term, team building considerations to take into account in the form of the impending 2021 NHL Expansion Draft. Assuming the Flames protect seven forwards and three defensemen in the draft, they would eliminate a very difficult decision if Valimaki does not play a game this season. The young blue liner used up his first season of pro competition as a rookie in 2018-19, but will not be credited with a year of service if he does not play this year. This would make him ineligible for draft exposure, as only those with more than two years of pro service may be selected. However, should Valimaki play even one game this year, he would require protection in next summer’s draft or otherwise would be picked off by Seattle. Francise believes that Flames defenders Noah Hanifin and Rasmus Andersson are locks for protection and that Valimaki would be as well if eligible, leaving veteran captain and top defender Mark Giordano exposed and a very likely candidate to be selected.

Playing Valimaki this season is not worth that risk. The young defenseman is very talented but has not played competitive hockey in over a year and it is hard to imagine that his surgically reconstructed knee or even his conditioning would be ready for an immediate jump into postseason play. On top of that, the Flames have Giordano, Hanifin, Andersson, T.J. Brodie, Travis Hamonic, Oliver Kylington and Michael Stone to lean on, making Valimaki an expendable piece of this year’s playoff run, especially if it helps to maintain the roster for future title chances.

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