There have been conflicting reports over the past several months about Buffalo’s plans for Rasmus Ristolainen. At times, it appears he has been available while at others, the Sabres have appeared to be inclined to keep him. Now, TVA Sports’ Renaud Lavoie reports (Twitter link) that the team is indeed trying to move the blueliner but that there have been no takers so far.
Presumably, it’s not that there hasn’t been interest in him but rather there hasn’t been a team that’s willing to pay Buffalo’s asking price just yet. Ristolainen is certainly prone to some untimely mistakes in his own end but he’s still a strong skater and offensive threat and as a right-hand shot, he plays the side that many teams are coveting.
What also will make Ristolainen appealing is his contract. He has three years left on his deal with a $5.4MM AAV. That type of money is typical for someone on the second pairing but the Sabres have been using the 24-year-old on the top pairing for the majority of his time with Buffalo. While moving someone like that out is certainly risky, they have high hopes for Brandon Montour (acquired near the trade deadline) and likely believe that he’s capable of taking on a larger workload.
The free agent market for impact right-shot defenders was pretty thin to begin with and took a big hit when Erik Karlsson re-signed in San Jose. P.K. Subban was a player of note on the trade market but he has since been moved as well. While Tyler Myers is still slated to become a free agent, Ristolainen still sits atop the list of available right-shot defenders.
With next year’s salary cap now set at $81.5MM and teams now knowing what they can now spend, it’s probable that interest in Ristolainen will pick up. The next few days will be spent wooing potential free agents during the interview period but if teams don’t think they’ll have a shot at Myers (who can be acquired without giving up an asset), they’ll likely circle back to Buffalo at that time and may be willing to up their offers accordingly. We’ll find out soon enough if it will be enough for Sabres GM Jason Botterill to part with Ristolainen.
I’m guessing the Oilers will be calling. Along with 29 other teams.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again…
I would like to see a trade between Buffalo and Toronto where the two main ingredients are Risto and Nylander.
Toronto needs a RD who loves to throw the body and blocks his fair share of shots. The soon-to-be-traded Zaitsev led the Leafs in both categories last year with 151 blocked shots and 139 hits. 6’4, 215 lbs Risto had 121 blocked shots and 235 hits. Toronto would also gain just over 1.5 million in cap space to put towards the RFAs.
Buffalo completes the set by getting the elder Nylander who has shown flashes of brilliance but is in need of a change of scenery. Having William around to help acclimate Alexander to the NHL game is just an added bonus.
W. Nylander would be a good acquisition but adding Risto into it?
Pass.
Sabres need as much scoring depth as possible so that proposed trade gives Buffalo no added scoring depth.
Also the Sabres would have to add another defenseman to their roster.
when hasnt this been true?
Again
The guy is awful -143 in his career. He does fit the mold for a right handed d for the leafs but no way would it be smart to trade for him .
I for one, am excited to see the Leafs go into next year without an RD. Babcock loved it last year
They’re both young but Ristolainen is older than Nylander…
Tell us why you think he needs a change of scenery!
goalieguy41 – A large portion of the fan base has turned on him. He’s viewed as a guy who quit on the team and has taken a ton of heat because of his hold out. I think there are players in that dressing room who shared a similar view as some of the fans and it upset the team chemistry. The Leafs record in the 20 games before Nylander came back, 14-6. The Leafs record in the 20 games after his return, 9-9-2. Over the entire season, the Leafs were 20-8 without Nylander and 26-20-8 after he joined the team.
Againigan
A large portion of the fan base thinks Gardiner shouldn’t be in the NHL, that Dubas is the worst GM in history, that Shanahan is an idiot, that Matthews isn’t a good center, that Zaitsev should be dumped for a bag of pucks, and hated the Kawhi Leonard trade. What this tells you is that a lot of ANY fan base have a lot of really stupid opinions, and as with the Leonard trade, if things work out they will immediately forget they had those opinions, or at least hope everyone else forgets.
The playoffs, particularly now in the NHL, are bordering on completely random so the key to winning a Cup is just to keep making the postseason and trying your luck. Tampa went out in the first round despite obviously being the best team in the league. Washington won with a team that was CLEARLY worse than what they had in the past. Fans use the rationale that “the playoffs are different and you need… X, or Y, or Z… to win in the postseason”, and that’s sort of true, but the X, Y, and Z that you need is luck, luck, and more luck.
The Leafs are now a well run organisation that has made the postseason for three straight years; if the stars align they’ll win a Cup, if they don’t then they’ll be just like San Jose and Washington were for all those years, and either way a bunch of people will come up with a lot of mostly stupid explanations for why they did or didn’t win it all.
I don’t necessarily disagree but they’ve gotta make it out of the 1st round eventually. Haha sharks and Caps at least got multiple rounds in, they were honest contenders