Eric Francis of Sportsnet: Calgary Flames defenseman Juuso Valimaki has been rehabbing his knee for the past 10 months. Even if he’s cleared by doctors to return, it’s unlikely the Flames would want to include him for their playoff run.
If Valimaki plays one game this season it would count a year towards his NHL service, which would make him eligible for the Seattle expansion draft, which in turn would likely mean that Mark Giordano would be exposed.
“It’s pretty cut and dried that the eligibility rules on the expansion draft say that to be eligible you have to have played three years pro,” said GM Brad Treliving.