Headlines

  • NHL, NHLPA Ratify Four-Year CBA Extension
  • Gavin McKenna To Commit To Penn State
  • Tyler Johnson Announces Retirement
  • Flyers Re-Sign Cam York To Five-Year Contract
  • Sabres, Mammoth Elect Salary Arbitration With Bowen Byram, Jack McBain
  • Players Still Eligible For Offer Sheets
  • Previous
  • Next
Register
Login
  • MLB Trade Rumors
  • Hoops Rumors
  • Pro Football Rumors

Pro Hockey Rumors

  • Home
  • Teams
    • Atlantic
      • Boston Bruins
      • Buffalo Sabres
      • Detroit Red Wings
      • Florida Panthers
      • Montreal Canadiens
      • Ottawa Senators
      • Tampa Bay Lightning
      • Toronto Maple Leafs
    • Central
      • Chicago Blackhawks
      • Colorado Avalanche
      • Dallas Stars
      • Minnesota Wild
      • Nashville Predators
      • St. Louis Blues
      • Utah Mammoth
      • Winnipeg Jets
    • Metropolitan
      • Carolina Hurricanes
      • Columbus Blue Jackets
      • New Jersey Devils
      • New York Islanders
      • New York Rangers
      • Philadelphia Flyers
      • Pittsburgh Penguins
      • Washington Capitals
    • Pacific
      • Anaheim Ducks
      • Calgary Flames
      • Edmonton Oilers
      • Los Angeles Kings
      • San Jose Sharks
      • Seattle Kraken
      • Vancouver Canucks
      • Vegas Golden Knights
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Contact Us
  • Partners
    • MLB Trade Rumors
    • Hoops Rumors
    • Pro Football Rumors
Go To MLB Trade Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Maple Leafs Showed Strong Interest In Acquiring Rasmus Ristolainen Earlier This Season

May 24, 2025 at 3:58 pm CDT | by Brian La Rose 7 Comments

Back at the trade deadline, the Maple Leafs and Flyers made one of the bigger trades of the day with Toronto picking up center Scott Laughton.  However, it appears that Laughton wasn’t the only veteran Flyer they were going after as Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch relays that Toronto also made a serious run for defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen at the deadline with a league source suggesting that the Maple Leafs made a very strong offer but were rebuffed.

The 30-year-old has been in trade speculation for the last couple of years now but he wasn’t moved at the 2024 deadline with the team still in the mix for a playoff spot.  Well out of contention by then this season, Ristolainen was believed to have more of a chance of moving although it appears GM Daniel Briere set a very high asking price.

Ristolainen enjoyed a bounce-back year in 2024-25, picking up 19 points in 63 games, his second-best output over the last five seasons.  More important, he upped his playing time by nearly four minutes per game compared to the year before, going from being a depth piece to one of former head coach John Tortorella’s more trusted options.

As it turns out, the deadline might have been the best time for the Flyers to move Ristolainen.  Soon after the deadline, he was shut down with an upper-body injury.  Then last month, he underwent triceps surgery, a procedure that carries a recovery timeline of six months, meaning that Ristolainen will miss training camp and the first couple of weeks of the regular season.  Speculatively, teams will want to ensure that he has fully recovered from that before putting forth their best efforts to acquire him and the final two years left on his deal that carries a $5.1MM cap charge.

On the surface, it seems unlikely that Toronto would rekindle their interest.  After failing to acquire Ristolainen, GM Brad Treliving turned his focus to acquiring defenseman Brandon Carlo to seemingly fill the same top-four role that they were likely viewing Ristolainen to fill.  With their top six on the back end intact and some prominent free agents up front, reshaping the forward group will likely be Toronto’s top priority in the coming weeks.  But with a relatively thin free agent market for right-shot blueliners, Briere should expect to be receiving some phone calls about Ristolainen once again this offseason.

Share 0 Retweet 0 Send via email

Philadelphia Flyers| Toronto Maple Leafs Rasmus Ristolainen

Metropolitan Notes: Ovechkin, Chatfield, Blue Jackets, Laperriere
Main
Atlantic Notes: Shanahan, Geekie, Heponiemi, Merrill
View Comments (7)

Comments

  1. Never Remember

    2 months ago

    If Briere turned down even a second round pick for him he should be fired immediately

    6
    Reply
  2. ericl

    2 months ago

    The amount of money the Leafs wanted the Flyers to retain was probably a main sticking point. The Flyers likely didn’t want to retain the amount the Leafs wanted them to for the final two years of his contract

    3
    Reply
  3. Lightning Strike

    2 months ago

    If true (and that’s a big if), kind of have to wonder what the details of that offer were such that Briere wouldn’t have grabbed the opportunity to finally get out from under that contract

    Reply
    • bigdaddyt

      2 months ago

      I would assume 50% retained and little return

      Reply
  4. 8EL8

    2 months ago

    And?

    1
    Reply
    • Don's Cherry

      1 month ago

      I second that

      Reply
  5. Bucky76

    1 month ago

    And he was going score the goals that Matthews didn’t…

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Please login to leave a reply.

Log in Register

    Top Stories

    NHL, NHLPA Ratify Four-Year CBA Extension

    Gavin McKenna To Commit To Penn State

    Tyler Johnson Announces Retirement

    Flyers Re-Sign Cam York To Five-Year Contract

    Sabres, Mammoth Elect Salary Arbitration With Bowen Byram, Jack McBain

    Players Still Eligible For Offer Sheets

    Eleven Players Elect Salary Arbitration

    Lyndon Byers Passes Away At 61

    Blue Jackets Re-Sign Dmitri Voronkov

    Mammoth Begin Extension Talks With Logan Cooley

    Recent

    Islanders Sign Forward Adam Beckman To One-Year Deal

    Strategic Drafting Will Keep Capitals Competitive

    Golden Knights Sign Lukas Cormier

    Penguins Sign Benjamin Kindel To Entry-Level Contract

    Avalanche Hire Dave Hakstol As Assistant Coach

    Canucks Re-Sign Jett Woo, Nikita Tolopilo

    NHL, NHLPA Ratify Four-Year CBA Extension

    Washington Capitals Sign Sheldon Rempal

    Jesse Puljujärvi Signs With NL’s Genève-Servette HC

    Canadiens Interested In Adding To Forward Group

    Rumors By Team

    Rumors By Team

    • Avalanche Rumors
    • Blackhawks Rumors
    • Blue Jackets Rumors
    • Blues Rumors
    • Bruins Rumors
    • Canadiens Rumors
    • Canucks Rumors
    • Capitals Rumors
    • Devils Rumors
    • Ducks Rumors
    • Flames Rumors
    • Flyers Rumors
    • Golden Knights Rumors
    • Hurricanes Rumors
    • Islanders Rumors
    • Jets Rumors
    • Kings Rumors
    • Kraken Rumors
    • Lightning Rumors
    • Mammoth Rumors
    • Maple Leafs Rumors
    • Oilers Rumors
    • Panthers Rumors
    • Penguins Rumors
    • Predators Rumors
    • Rangers Rumors
    • Red Wings Rumors
    • Sabres Rumors
    • Senators Rumors
    • Sharks Rumors
    • Stars Rumors
    • Wild Rumors

    Latest Rumors & News

    Latest Rumors & News

    • 2025’s Top 50 Unrestricted Free Agents
    • Sam Bennett Rumors
    • Nikolaj Ehlers Rumors
    • Mitch Marner Rumors
    • Marco Rossi Rumors

    Pro Hockey Rumors Features

    Pro Hockey Rumors Features

    • Support Pro Hockey Rumors And Go Ad-Free
    • 2025 Free Agent Focus Series
    • 2025 Offseason Checklist Series
    • 2025 NHL Free Agent List
    • 2026 NHL Free Agent List
    • Active Roster Tracker
    • Coaching Staff Directory
    • Draft Pick Tracker 2025
    • Key Offseason Dates
    • Offseason Trade Tracker
    • Pro Hockey Rumors On X
    • Pro Hockey Rumors Polls
    • Waiver Claims 2024-25

     

     

     

    Navigation

    • Sitemap
    • Archives

    PHR Info

    • About
    • Privacy Policy
    • Commenting Policy

    Connect

    • Contact Us
    • Twitter
    • Facebook
    • RSS Feed

    Pro Hockey Rumors is not affiliated with National Hockey League, NHL or NHL.com

    scroll to top

    Register

    Desktop Version | Switch To Mobile Version