The Sabres have been connected to the defense market this spring, preferably a right-shot name, as they already have an excess of high-end left-shot options. They haven’t been connected to many specific names yet, though. That changed today as Anthony Di Marco of Daily Faceoff reports the Sabres are “actively in” pursuit of a reunion with Flyers defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen.
Ristolainen, the eighth overall pick back in 2013 who struggled for years in extended deployment with Buffalo, has emerged as a much more stable option in sheltered minutes since being traded to the Flyers five years ago. The past two years, though, he’s back to averaging over 20 minutes per game and has largely kept up the improvements in his defensive game. He’s only made 23 appearances this season due to a lengthy recovery from triceps surgery, recording a 1-5–6 scoring line with a -3 rating. His 20:33 average time on ice is his highest since 2021-22, posting a 47.8% Corsi For share and 53.4% expected goals share at even strength.
His strong possession-quality numbers throughout most of his tenure in Philly would be a massively valuable addition to the Sabres if he keeps them up on a Buffalo roster with its best chance at a postseason berth since before Ristolainen was even drafted. Their entire top four group is comprised of lefties at the moment. Their top right-shot option, Michael Kesselring, was expected to fill minutes higher up in the lineup after being acquired from the Mammoth last summer. He has been a virtual non-factor this season, though, mostly because of a rash of injuries limiting him to 27 games.
Incorporating Ristolainen’s full $5.1MM cap hit through next season could be a problem for Buffalo general manager Jarmo Kekälainen, who’s armed with over $14MM in cap space for next season but needs to reserve all of it for new deals for Alex Tuch and Zach Benson. That would either force him to move out a significant salary in the deal, which would likely require an even steeper acquisition price to convince the Flyers to take on an undesirable deal, or to pay a similar premium for Philly to retain a significant chunk of his salary.
Philly’s base-level ask is comparable to what the Bruins netted for Brandon Carlo at last year’s deadline – a first-round pick, a mid-round pick, and a rather high-end forward prospect. The Sabres are certainly equipped with the assets to make that work – Anton Wahlberg fits a similar niche/value range to what Fraser Minten held for the Maple Leafs in that Carlo deal – and Boston retained 15% of Carlo’s salary in that trade. The Sabres would need near max retention to make Ristolainen’s salary work for next season, though, assuming they can’t find a taker for a bloated cap hit like Jordan Greenway‘s $4MM or Conor Timmins‘ $2.2MM.
LMAO
Even if GMJK liked the player, Philly’s asking price for Risto should be too much for Buffalo to remain enticed. I’d say their baseline for defensive depth would be a 3rd. They wouldn’t be able to give Risto the minutes and assignments that would justify giving up.a 1st.
Oh stop. No one is getting RR for a third unless a top prospect is included. Ridiculous. Sabres will trade a first a prospect for him either way 50% retention
Hahahaha Sabres gonna Sabre.
Much cheaper and better defensive option would be Carlo. Would Helenius, a 2nd and Bedkowski work? Maybe 2x2nds?