It’s completely unknown just how busy the Philadelphia Flyers are going to be this summer. They can be involved in a whole lot of trade discussions as they look to improve off of their surprising playoff appearance. Or, they might just sit back and let some prospects and young guys develop and head into next season comfortable with someone like Porter Martone being on the roster for all 82 games, something they didn’t get to have last year.
But, one name has already appeared on a trade board and it’s an obvious one.
Rasmus Ristolainen is heading into the final year of his five-year deal he signed with the Flyers when Chuck Fletcher was still in charge of this team. And while he has improved to being a solid top-four contributor on the back end and he certainly makes this team better overall, the time might just be for the Flyers to deal him out and move on.
So says one suspected NHL insider, as he appears on a list of possible trade candidates in the early days of the offseason.
Rasmus Ristolainen’s name is back on NHL trade boards
On the latest trade board from Sportsnet’s Nick Kypreos, he names Ristolainen among the slew of defensemen who are reportedly available. And of course, it’s all about how Philadelphia didn’t get their asking price at the trade deadline so now might be the time they strike a deal.
“Rasmus Ristolainen has been another regular on this trade board for a while, but he remained in Philadelphia because the Flyers couldn’t get their asking price and, this season, were a competitive playoff team. Now this situation is coming to a head, though,” Kypreos writes. “Ristolainen will be going into the final season of his contract in 2026-27 and there is little reason to believe he’ll re-sign with the Flyers. Turning 32 in October, Ristolainen is a big right-shot defenceman, and he had a pretty good season for Philadelphia, contributing to the team’s success.”
Okay, so nothing really new and that’s basically his situation, yeah.
The Flyers were reportedly in several trade talks for Ristolainen surrounding the deadline and were even close to some deals happening, but their reported ask of a first-round pick and prospect was not met for the large Finnish rearguard. So, he stayed and was ultimately a massive contributor to the Flyers’ hot streak that got them into the playoffs and played solid hockey in the postseason, too.
But, now they are expected to re-visit some trade discussions and after putting in that playoff performance, maybe someone will meet their price.
Flyers might have an advantage this summer in Ristolainen trade talks
And you know why some team might finally say, “Oh, okay, we’ll give you that first-round pick”? It’s because there are zero good defensemen available.
That’s a lie, but it’s a big group of reclamation projects or dudes who will cost way too much.
In free agency you have the likes of Jacob Trouba, John Carlson, Rasmus Andersson, and Darren Raddysh, who are all going to either want so much money it feels impossible to think of them as that big of a deal, or just be completely washed. And even on the trade market, the likes of Morgan Rielly and Darnell Nurse lead the way on other NHL trade boards and any team wanting to acquire them and their massive contracts paired with sub-optimal play on the ice, feels like something that every single team should ultimately avoid.
Sure, we can get cute and think of Mario Ferraro as a cost-efficient bet to basically bring some grit and shot some blocks from free agency. Or maybe someone will finally convince Dougie Hamilton to waive his no-trade clause so he can be a solid offensive blueliner somewhere worthwhile. Or, they pay a whole lot for a youngster like Simon Nemec.
It just feels like there are so many risks to acquire a defenseman this summer and most of them are going to cost a lot.
Now, add Ristolainen to that pile and while we might be biased, but he’s one of the best of the bunch. His one single contract year at $5.1 million is a bargain, he’s not too old as he will turn 32 years old next season, and you can re-sign him or just let him walk — the acquiring team doesn’t have to be tied to him for several years like any free agency signing or trading for one of Rielly or Nurse.
Is a first-round pick a lot for him? Yeah, probably, but would you rather pay Rasmus Andersson $9.5 million for the next seven years and regret it, or pay a future 25th-overall pick to get a nice Finnish lad who rejuvenated his career in Philadelphia? We say it should be the latter.
Either way, we might see some more trade action in the next month or so from the Flyers. Maybe. Possibly. Please? We want to talk about something.
