The NHL roster freeze ends on Saturday, and while it may still be a bit early to look ahead to the trade deadline, the Philadelphia Flyers are no strangers to rumors and rumblings. There aren’t a ton of Flyers who might be garnering interest this trade season, but one of them certainly is Rasmus Ristolainen.
The big blueliner has reformed his game in Philadelphia under Brad Shaw & Co., and his $5.1 million cap hit through 2027 no longer looks like a huge liability. In fact, it might even be an asset for teams looking for controllable defensemen.
The Flyers may also be more willing to move Ristolainen this season given the fact that they just had to send down Emil Andrae, who deserves a roster spot based on his play thus far.
The Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun and Chris Johnston are predicting where top targets might go at the trade deadline, and the two had Ristolainen on part two of their list on Friday.
Ristolainen’s reputation has picked up in both Philadelphia and around the league:
“League sources say the Flyers have indeed received calls this season asking if they would be willing to move Ristolainen,” Lebrun wrote. “The answer from the Flyers is yes — if there’s a certain price met. They would want a good prospect or young player in return or a combination of a prospect and a pick.”
In past years, the Flyers may have had to retain salary or possibly attach an asset to Ristolainen to move his contract. Now, they might be able to get multiple assets for the defenseman.
LeBrun predicted the Winnipeg Jets as a landing spot for Ristolainen. He noted that Winnipeg traded a first-round pick last year for a rental in Sean Monahan, and the Jets may be looking for a player with term given how undesirable a location it is to play in.
Johnston didn’t have as much to say about Ristolainen, but also offered a Western Conference contender as a possible destination: the Dallas Stars. Dallas went out and got Chris Tanev as a right-shot rental at last year’s deadline and hasn’t properly replaced him. It doesn’t hurt that the Stars might get a look at Ristolainen playing with Stars defensemen Miro Heiskanen and Esa Lindell at the 4 Nations Face-Off.
Danny Briere and Keith Jones may not be actively shopping many players, but they’re going to listen on just about anyone. Trading Ristolainen would not only bring in an asset or two but also open up a spot on the blue line for someone like Andrae or Oliver Bonk next season.
