The Philadelphia Flyers are dipping their toe in the waters of trade rumors before the March 7 deadline and the one name that is most likely to be moved is defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen.
With two years left after this season on a contract that holds a $5.1-million AAV, Ristolainen could be one of the rare players moved at the trade deadline that is under contract for more than just one small push into the playoffs before he heads into the wild territory of free agency. Despite Flyers general manager Danny Briere recently saying how he isn’t going to be shopping the 30-year-old defenseman and the team are not specifically looking to trade him in the middle of the season, it certainly is still a possibility.
If anything, Briere was just making it clear that it will take a decent amount to pry away a defenseman that means a fair amount to this potential playoff team. Right now it would, anyways.
But what if the Flyers begin to slip and we see them more and more as sellers in March, what could we potentially see as a return for someone like Ristolainen? Well, we know that some teams have been heavily linked to the player. And that if the Flyers couldn’t get some top-end draft capital, they would be more than happy to get a prospect or a young player in return to keep growing this young core that they are forming.
Taking those things into consideration, what are some young players that we could maybe see teams moving on from to get Ristolainen? We thought of a few.
Mavrik Bourque, Dallas Stars
This feels like the easiest conclusion anyone could ever make when it comes to conjuring up a transaction based off some rumors. The Dallas Stars desperately need a right-handed defenseman (or two). Ristolainen is that. The Stars would like to add some more physicality, and they will have more cap space with Tyler Seguin most likely out for the rest of the season. Well that definitely works. The Flyers want young centers that could have offensive potential and can play at a high pace. Oh, and Mavrik Bourque is just hanging out in the Stars’ bottom six and could be overtaken by some prospects eventually, leading him to being the odd man out at just 23 years old.
It’s an equation that just feels so simple and satisfies just about everyone involved. Maybe the only thing that could prevent this from happening if the two can agree, is the fact that the 23-year-old center is listed at 5-foot-10. But the Flyers can’t really be picky.
Bourque has already dominated the minor leagues, putting up more than a point per game last season for the Texas Stars, and has forced his way to being in the NHL. In a depth role, he has scored five goals and 12 points while averaging under 12 minutes of ice time through 41 games.
Nate Danielson, Detroit Red Wings
This might not happen, but it would be fun. The Detroit Red Wings are seen as an outsider team when it comes to trading for Ristolainen, but considering that their blue line is one second away from falling apart due to employing Ben Chiarot to play hockey, they could use someone like the steady Finn.
Nate Danielson might be a high price to pay for someone like Ristolainen, but that’s what you might need to cough up for three years of solidifying your defensive core outside of Moritz Seider. The 2023 ninth-overall selection is not the most flashy of players. Through his time with the WHL’s Brandon Wheat Kings, he was just a steady force on both ends of the puck and can put up just enough numbers to keep him at the top of the lineup. In his first season in the AHL so far, he has 22 points in 38 games — not too shabby at all.
A steady, two-way center that is over 6-foot and drafted in the top 10? Sounds like a different former Wheat King we know. Hopefully this one could work out differently.
Amadeus Lombardi, Detroit Red Wings
If Danielson is too high of a price for the Red Wings but the Flyers want to fall in love with the notion of getting a center from Motor City, maybe they should look at someone who could have the best name in the NHL.
Amadeus Lombardi is a 5-foot-10, 21-year-old center who was drafted in the fourth round but has largely been overlooked just due to his playing environment. The Newmarket, Ont. native had the displeasure of lacing up for the OHL’s Flint Firebirds through his development and never really got to shine on a good team. In his rookie AHL season last year, it took some time for him to get his footing but he finished with 26 points in 70 games. But now, while he is currently out with an injury, the young center has scored nine goals and 15 points in 20 games for the Griffins.
Lombardi has taken a massive leap in production while being one of the top-line centers down in Grand Rapids. He is a fast, skilled center that we should be dreaming of in the Orange and Black and it probably wouldn’t take a lot for Detroit to be happy with trading him. They already have enough of that and Philadelphia has almost zero.
He’s a blast to watch.
#IAvsGR | The night after Pavel Datsyuk’s night in Detroit, Amadeus Lombardi with a Datsyukian play to put the Griffins up early in this one
— Andrew Rinaldi (@GR_Rinaldi_) November 23, 2024
A sneaky steal and a beautiful finish in tight. 1-0 Grand Rapids pic.twitter.com/EuXVxkWl6u
Aatu Raty, Vancouver Canucks
Amidst the chaos between Elias Pettersson and J.T. Miller, the Vancouver Canucks are still playing hockey games and fighting to stay relevant in the race for the playoffs. And outside of Quinn Hughes and the recently returning Filip Hronek, that team has almost zero help from its blue line. Just a dearth of talent that is screaming to be addressed if this team wants to stay competitive and in the hunt.
In comes Ristolainen to just help settle everything down. And who goes out? Well, maybe the Finnish center that is just hanging out in Abbotsford putting up 21 points in 20 games and has shown flashes of being a very good middle-six center in the NHL.
Raty is nowhere near the most desirable name any fan of any team can think of if their team wants to acquire a centerman. While there was promise before he was selected in the second round by the New York Islanders, he has settled into being just a professional hockey player at 22 years old and might only ever be in a depth role in the NHL. But, he would certainly get more of an opportunity to show something more in Philadelphia than Vancouver.
He is too good to be in the AHL and the Canucks would hardly notice him really gone from their organization. It won’t feel necessarily all that enticing to have a trade return centered around Raty, but add a couple decent draft picks and the total value of what could be is more than reasonable. This is all about doing your scouting homework and then determining if Raty was suddenly handed over Matvei Michkov to work with instead of Max Sasson, he would take the opportunity and run with it.
Brad Lambert, Winnipeg Jets
If the Flyers want centers who can skate better than just about anyone not named Connor McDavid, then maybe they really want to swipe 21-year-old Brad Lambert from Winnipeg. He is just so incredibly smooth out there and has been his entire career. Plus, he’s producing incredibly well at the AHL and just needs to fine-tune his defensive game to warrant a call up to the NHL.
It just feels like a homemade situation for the Flyers to take advantage of and all it would take is the Jets realizing that they need someone to stay in Winnipeg. Neal Pionk is most likely heading out the door to unrestricted free agency this summer, and with hardly any free agent deciding to play in Manitoba, the Jets need as many players with term as they can get.
They don’t trade prospects unless they’re forced to — because they need people to stick around — but this could be the rare exception of knowing that Lambert would not reach his prime until players like Kyle Connor, Mark Scheifele, and Connor Hellebuyck are declining and leading that team down a path of increased obscurity. Now is the time to strike with them actually playing incredibly well. Go get that defenseman, Winnipeg, and you don’t even need to subtract from your roster to do it.
