With the dust mostly settled from last Friday’s trade deadline, stories continue to emerge. Anthony DiMarco of The Daily Faceoff wrote on Philadelphia’s decision to retain Rasmus Ristolainen despite being a long way from playoff contention.
It is thought that the Flyers sought a Brandon Carlo-type package for the 31-year-old, with a first-round pick and a notable prospect. Unconventional is a word which could describe Philadelphia’s trade deadline, as their headlining move was dealing young forward Bobby Brink to Minnesota in exchange for David Jiříček.
Reasonable frustration from fans aside, GM Daniel Briere’s focus on the future actually ties into how they handled the Ristolainen situation. Mentioned by DiMarco, the club evaluated its internal right-handed defense pipeline, headlined by Oliver Bonk and the newly-acquired Jiříček. The former has played well with AHL Lehigh Valley, but still just 31 games into his professional career, the Flyers do not want to rush Bonk.
On the other hand, Jiříček is a reclamation project. He failed to record a single point in 25 games with the high flying Wild prior to the trade, with poor possession metrics and AHL output which is hardly anything to write home about either. The former sixth overall pick (2022) will have to find his game with AHL Lehigh Valley before any role with the Flyers becomes a possibility.
The Flyers determined that Ristolainen and his $5.1MM which runs through next year is worth keeping around for now. Even if Briere obtained draft capital for the 6’4” righty, likely below his asking price, it would cost more than their return for a replacement, not to mention the rushing of prospects. The Finn will go into 2026-27 as his sixth season as a Flyer, where he’ll turn 32 in October, and be a near-lock for a trade later on.
Elsewhere across the league:
- The Detroit Red Wings shared mid-game that Andrew Copp won’t return due to a lower body injury. The center was shaken up after a draw with Florida’s Tomáš Nosek, who fell onto his leg. Already without Dylan Larkin, it’s another blow for the club, but thankfully their captain won’t be out for long. Regardless, the Wings passed on the opportunity to acquire a top center at the trade deadline, a decision which may age poorly if Copp will miss an extended period. As it’s a suspected knee injury, there’s reason for much concern. The 31-year-old Michigan native is on pace for his best season in Detroit with 36 points in 64 games, not yet missing a contest this year. He has been great on draws, snapping them back at a 54.6% success rate.
- One suitor forced to pivot from Ristolainen as discussed above, the red-hot Buffalo Sabres welcomed their acquisition Logan Stanley into the lineup tonight per Paul Hamilton of WGR Sports Radio. The former Winnipeg Jet was dealing with visa issues, a common occurrence for players traded between Canada and the United States. Debuting on the third pairing alongside Michael Kesselring, Stanley wasted no time endearing himself to Buffalo fans as he fought San Jose’s Zack Ostapchuk. The 6’7” lefty will try to make noise as a Sabre as he heads into free agency this summer.
Yeah, no. Briere just kept asking for too much and everyone just moved on. He is a failure as GM and has ruined the team
Bonk hasn’t played that well for Lehigh Valley. He has 14 points in 31 games, which isn’t a ton. Bonk has also had his struggles defensively.
How many points are in a ton?
Briere is another former Flyer who got his position based on nepotism, And nothing else, So, I’m not surprised that on deadline day he sat on his hands.
Given that the nepotism is the granting of an advantage or a position by a relative, please tell which relative hired Daniel Briere.
I feel for both Larkin in Detroit and Keller in Utah. They’ll both be in their 30’s still waiting for their GM’s to do something significant.
Briere has done a solid job imo. Other than Gauthier, who has he moved out that has done anything? The team he took over was mud. Very little nhl talent & none in the system. & Has spent very little in FA, so the cap situation is fine while gaining assets. Though he better give Martone the end of this season to burn his 1st year. Gauthier producing for the ducks shows maybe he deserved his late season audition. They blew that it’s looking like. Overall the team has been competitive under Briere other than the last 2 Torts months.
I’ve never been a Ristolainen fan, but even with that, of course the Flyers weren’t going to be offered much for him. He hasn’t played a full season in a decade, and has come close to it only once in seven seasons. His physicality’s dropped off a cliff; he just doesn’t hit any more. His *offense* has dropped off a cliff — he hasn’t been all that useful there since Buffalo days. Likewise, he stopped producing on the power play around the trade. Sure, his salary is reasonable for a top-four defenseman, but he’s just taking up space now.
Re: Detroit. I keep hearing McClellan’s pre season comments on their need for game awareness and game management. Fast forward to recent games and that player and team skill seems to have evaporated. Letting leads disappear into ties then OT losses, and worse, last night’s blowing of the lead followed by the tie, then regulation loss. This is the annual mind virus that seems to infect this team at the wrong times. Not sure if it is fatigue, or mental or physical laziness. It is awful to watch. Now back in the wild card space, with Boston, one point out but on a win streak, kicking in the door.