For some reason, Rasmus Ristolainen can’t seem to escape trade rumors. Seemingly every summer there is some sort of report that has his name in trade talks, and this year has been no different. Today, Ristolainen popped up in reports from two different reporters on opposite sides of the continent. First, Rick Dhaliwal of Sportsnet tweeted that the Vancouver Canucks are speaking with the Buffalo Sabres about a defenseman, and suggested that it was either Ristolainen or Bogosian. Then, Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic (subscription required) wrote that not only have the the Tampa Bay Lightning shown interest in the Buffalo defender once again this offseason, but they are “far from the only team.”
While LeBrun notes that the Sabres “aren’t going to deal [Ristolainen] unless the package is absolutely right” it is interesting that his name is out there at all. The 24-year old has three years left on a contract that carries a $5.4MM cap hit, and has carried a heavy load for the Sabres over the last few seasons. While the team did go out and add Brandon Montour last season, it’s not like Buffalo is overflowing with capable defenders ready for more minutes. In fact, three of their veteran defensemen—Bogosian, Marco Scandella and Matt Hunwick—are under contract for just the 2019-20 season, meaning the team will need to find replacements before long.
The Sabres are in a tricky spot, trying to take the next step in their rebuild and contend for a playoff spot. From the massive contract they recently handed Jeff Skinner, it’s obvious that they want to stop selling off top assets just for future potential, but perhaps a Ristolainen trade could work out for both sides. After all, even with all of his offensive upside, Ristolainen has been anything but a lock-down defender during his time in Buffalo. While plus-minus obviously has its flaws as a metric, it’s still hard to overlook the -41 mark that Ristolainen recorded last season or the -143 he has for his six-year career.
Buffalo must hold onto Ristolainen. This would be a huge loss if they traded this superstar dman
Superstar d men usually have to play defence
For the right trade offer the Sabres should pull the trigger-
What offers might that be/include to sway Buffalo?
Top 6 young Center/Forward
1st round pick
Lockdown Defender
Multiple 2nd round picks
(Combo of above)
Pilot will be back sometime before Thanksgiving & the Sabees do have some recently signed young Defensemen that will be needing playing time/don’t know what you got till you play ’em.
*Pilut
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.