Hurricanes acquire D Juuso Valimaki from Mammoth

The Carolina Hurricanes picked up defenseman Juuso Valimaki in a late-night trade with the Utah Mammoth on Monday.

Utah received future considerations in the deal.

Valimaki played 43 games for the Mammoth in 2024-25 but had yet to log an NHL appearance this season as he recovered from a torn ACL. The 27-year-old Finn returned to the ice on New Year's Eve with the Tucson Roadrunners, Utah's American Hockey League affiliate.

Carolina assigned Valimaki -- a pending unrestricted free agent -- to the AHL's Chicago Wolves.

Valimaki has 72 career points in 271 NHL games. He was drafted No. 16 overall by the Calgary Flames in 2017 and also played for the Arizona Coyotes before that team uprooted to Utah.

Shortly before tearing his ACL last February, Valimaki was a healthy scratch in each of Finland's three games at the 4 Nations Face-Off. He was not named to Finland's 2026 Olympic roster.