The Flyers have received fewer calls than expected on defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen ahead of the March 7 trade deadline, sources tell Kevin Kurz of The Athletic. There’s a “decent chance” the 30-year-old stays in Philadelphia down the stretch with two years left on his contract.
Ristolainen’s resurgence as a dependable piece outside of a top-pairing role made his name pop into trade speculation as far back as November. The Flyers haven’t been in the playoff conversation for an extended period like they were in 2023-24, allowing general manager Daniel Brière to more firmly cement his team’s status as a retooler/seller on deadline day and gain more traction on moving non-rental assets. While that may still hold for players like center Scott Laughton, they haven’t had a ton of urgency surrounding Ristolainen discussions. A high asking price (speculated as a first-rounder) likely deterred some interest from teams before they even called to initiate talks.
Right-shot defensemen are always in need, but even for a cost-controlled asset who will be 32 years old upon expiry, Ristolainen’s $5.1MM cap hit remains steep, considering past years’ performance. It’s probably right on track for his value in 2024-25, though. The much-maligned Finn is having arguably his best all-around season since he entered the league. While not clicking at his 40-point heights early in his career with the Sabres, he’s produced a respectable 1-17–18 line through 56 games. Backing up his offensive totals are the best defensive metrics of his career while averaging north of 20 minutes per game for the first time since the 2021-22 campaign.
Ristolainen has anchored the team’s second pairing at even strength behind Travis Sanheim and Cameron York up top, also routinely flexing into their top penalty-kill unit. The results have been good – a plus-five rating tied for third on the team, plus a strong +2.6 expected rating, considering he’s started over 60% of his shifts in the defensive zone for just the second time in his 12-year career. He may not be much of a power play option anymore, although he has averaged 48 seconds per game with the man advantage for Philly and hasn’t been on the ice for a shorthanded goal against this season. He has desirable size at 6’4″ and 208 lbs and ranks third on the Flyers in blocks and hits with 86 each.
That should make him a desirable pickup for a contender, in theory. However, this is likely a case where a player being under contract for a few more years hurts their trade value rather than helping it. The 2013 No. 8 overall pick has had wildly inconsistent year-to-year performances in the past, so while teams may have had interest in capitalizing on his strong rebound and letting him walk in the summer, they won’t be able to do so with him locked in through the 2026-27 campaign. There’s also the fading but still-present stain on his reputation from his Buffalo days when he was vastly overtaxed as their No. 1 until Rasmus Dahlin’s arrival and failed to have much effectiveness outside of power-play contributions and physical play.
If Ristolainen doesn’t get moved by the deadline, there’s still a non-zero chance he finishes his contract with the Flyers, depending on how quickly they turn the page in their rebuild. A return to playoff contention next year likely means continued strong play from the defender, which wouldn’t give Brière much reason to shop him again a year from now. If they find themselves in a similar position in the standings, though, Ristolainen should generate more interest with only one year left on his deal, assuming his play doesn’t nosedive.