Arizona Coyotes defenceman Juuso Välimäki had surgery, repairing an injury to the mouth area. Prior to the Coyotes game against the Columbus Blue Jackets, coach André Tourigny addressed the media and gave an update regarding Välimäki’s health. “He stayed in Dallas for a procedure out there for his mouth,” Tourigny said. “He stayed there overnight and he will head back to Phoenix. We don't know exactly the timeline but hope for the best.” André Tourigny spoke prior to the Coyotes game against the Blue Jackets. The 25-year-old defenceman took a puck to the face during the third period of the Coyotes game against the Dallas Stars on Tuesday night where he exited to the locker room immediately. Välimäki played all 15 games prior to this injury tallying four assists while logging in 18:13 minutes of ice time per game. Tourigny also talked about how the team plans to adapt with Välimäki out of the lineup. “Any team you take out two top-six defenceman from the lineup and it tests your depth, but for us we have veterans that need to keep playing well increase their level of play and we will give a chance to a young player like Kes to get in there are show what he can do,” Tourigny said. “So it’s an opportunity for our other guys and that’s how we have to see it.” The Coyotes will certainly miss Välimäki as he served a critical role quarterbacking the team’s second unit of the power play and was definitely one of Arizona’s better skaters at the blue line. While the timeline is still unclear, expect Välimäki to be out for at least the next couple of weeks.
