Utah HC Signs Juuso Valimaki to Multi-Year Deal

The Utah Hockey Club has been quite busy, acquiring both Mikhail Sergachev and John Marino on Saturday. Now, they have made another move with their blueline, signing defenseman Juuso Valimaki to a two-year, $4 million contract ($2 million AAV).

✍️ SIGNED ✍️

We have signed defenseman Juuso Valimaki to a two-year contract!

🔗 | https://t.co/Bf2WTKZXp5 #UtahHC pic.twitter.com/xWdXz82oiZ
— Utah Hockey Club (@utahhockeyclub) June 29, 2024

Valimaki, 25, would have become a restricted free agent on July 1, but Utah acted quickly and got him signed before the start of free agency. Now, Valimaki will look to be a solid part of Utah's blueline as they look to be competitive during the 2024-25 season.

Valimaki appeared in 68 games this past season with the Arizona Coyotes, where he had two goals to go along with 17 points and a plus-12 rating. Overall, it was another solid year for the 2017 first-round pick, and his goal will be to build off it with Utah next season.

Valimaki showed during the 2022-23 season with the Coyotes that he also has the potential to produce pretty strong offense from the point. In 78 games that season, he had four goals and 34 points. If he can get his offense back up to those numbers while maintaining his solid defensive play, this deal could be a very good one for Utah.

In 228 career NHL games split between the Calgary Flames and Coyotes, Valimaki has nine goals, 67 points, 119 penalty minutes, and a minus-2 rating.