Kent Hughes finally has the opportunity to hit the jackpot he was waiting for, because the very interesting Juuso Valimaki is available
After claiming right-handed defenseman Johnathan Kovacevic through the NHL draft in the last few minutes, Kent Hughes and the Montreal Canadiens could well claim a second defenseman in less than 24 hours.
To everyone's surprise, young defenseman Juuso Valimaki was just placed on waivers by the Calgary Flames.
This is the biggest name to be waived in a while and certainly the player with the highest potential to be waived since last year.
He hasn't been able to establish himself in the NHL so far, as he doesn't seem to be in the good graces of head coach Darryl Sutter, but he has some very interesting potential!
Valimaki is a very good skater, very fast, with good size and with the skills to become a solid top 4 defenseman in the National Hockey League.
He was going to get his chance to establish himself in Calgary at the exceptional age of 19, when he played 24 games in the NHL, but a serious injury completely derailed his development.
Valimaki is the kind of young defenseman who could become a real steal of the ball.
Drafted 16th overall in 2017 (first round), the now 23-year-old defenseman has put up about 20 points, in 35 games, in the AHL. In 2021-22. In 2021, he had 11 points in the NHL.
Do you also believe that Kent Hughes should claim him? Remember that the Montreal Canadiens have the first pick in the waiver wire.
If the CH ignores him, he will almost certainly be claimed elsewhere. We are talking about a player who was among the favorites to be the NHL's rookie of the year only a few years ago.
When Darren Dreger talked about a "surprise name coming up on waivers", was he talking about Valimaki? It's quite possible.
| POLL | ||
Do you think the CH should claim Juuso Valimaki? | ||
| Yes | 228 | 80.6 % |
| No | 55 | 19.4 % |
| List of polls | ||
