Confirmed Trade: [PHI/BUF] Rasmus Ristolainen for Robert Hagg, 2021 1st round pick, 2023 2nd round pick

[threeVo]

Risto got carried by McCabe last season

 

[mercury]

Maybe it's the front office and coaching that need shaking?

And if you need a shakeup with the roster....Then trade players away. Don't overpay to take on a decent player into a cancerous locker room. Makes zero sense. If there's a culture problem in Philly, Ristolainen ain't solving it, and that 1st and 2nd could've been used in so many better ways.

I have to imagine that Fletcher had two concerns this offseason:

1) improve the blueline to take some pressure (both on-ice and mental) off Hart;

2) shake things up and move guys who aren't blossoming or maybe seem as if they don't want to be here anymore

Both understandable. The way he went about effecting those changes, though. . . Oof.

 

[webersshot]

He was someone I'd have liked to try but I honestly thought he's end up going for like our 2nd lol. 13th? Jesus

 

[jonlin]

I bet 67 of the players didnt play in tire-fire Buffalo...

 

[5 Minute Major]

But knowing Buffalo, they're going to mess up this trade by drafting a bust like they always do.

Huh???

 

[CycloneSweep]

This might be the worst trade in an extremely long time.

 

[jonlin]

He was someone I'd have liked to try but I honestly thought he's end up going for like our 2nd lol. 13th? Jesus

I bet Montreal actually offered a 1st, as its reported that multiple teams did. I assumed Risto would be traded for a 2nd + prospect, but there must have been a biddingwar

 

[HabsAddict]

The problem with looking at a defenseman from a bottom dweller is that you really dont have a complete picture. Is he overused and overwhelmed? Is he fed up? Is he playing in a hopeless system?

I was willing to take a chance on the Habs because we have a simplified team defense first in place. When a plug like Kulak can play somewhat effective, then some with more tools can and should do better.

But.....there is also a limit on the cost of acquisition since this a 5.3 million player and that will rise. The philly first was too much. Our 31 1st a bit closer to "test him out" value.

How good Risto is or is not will show soon enough.

 

[Name Nameless]

Seems odd, there are better UFAs for a fair price than Risto.

Like Goligoski, much better player...? Just an example I know of (as a Coyote-fan.)

 

[Drew311]

Why, does the Flyers’ team physician know how to do a brain transplant? Risto’s asinine decisions were a cause — not a result — of the crappiness of the Sabres.

Sports are all about confidence. Risto playing on a better, maybe even a playoff calibre team will help significantly with his play and decision making. When you're losing every night and there's no one around you to help you get better you're in a hole you can't get out of. Risto finally has that chance.

 

[Husko]

For the Flyers sake, I hope they finally deploy Risto correctly. At his best he's an offense-oriented defensivemen that plays and produces on the PP and doesn't have to face top competition. But for years Sabres coaches have tricked themselves into thinking he's big and therefore must play shutdown minutes. He can be a plus player if deployed right, but for the love of god don't make him your 25 minute shutdown guy.

Enamored with the return.

 

[SnS]

Seems odd, there are better UFAs for a fair price than Risto.

Like Goligoski, much better player...? Just an example I know of (as a Coyote-fan.)

We had a better option yesterday.

 

[SnS]

For the Flyers sake, I hope they finally deploy Risto correctly. At his best he's an offense-oriented defensivemen that plays and produces on the PP and doesn't have to face top competition. But for years Sabres coaches have tricked themselves into thinking he's big and therefore must play shutdown minutes. He can be a plus player if deployed right, but for the love of god don't make him your 25 minute shutdown guy.

Enamored with the return.

So he’ll be a waste here, paired with Sanheim. And likely no PP time.

 

[Finnflash]

Well. If this was the cost for Risto you should be able to get a whole team for Ike

 

[Husko]

So he’ll be a waste here, paired with Sanheim. And likely no PP time.

If you're not putting him on the PP then useless is probably the right word

 

[periferal]

First part - he was very critical of the D and not fixing the Niskanen retirement problem. So yea, he feels fixing the D will do it.

Second part - he’s likely told not rebuild and to try and contend. It’s one of the things that got Hextall fired.

All fair. I can see the wheels coming off the Flyers real early this season. If they truly want to win now, then you've got to resign Couturier and Giroux or that's going to be hanging over the team all season and they would have to be dealt by the deadline if not.

We all know that trading them for futures and rebuilding is a most shrewd move, but Fletcher is even a worse GM than I thought, or ownership is forcing him to do this.

 

[SnS]

If you're not putting him on the PP then useless is probably the right word

Provo won’t be taken off the top unit and I imagine Ellis goes onto the second unit.

 

[HabsAddict]

I bet Montreal actually offered a 1st, as its reported that multiple teams did. I assumed Risto would be traded for a 2nd + prospect, but there must have been a biddingwar

Our 1st is 31 pick. For all intents a second rounder. We could of thrown in Kulak but i bet the ask was Guhle. THAT would set off Bbinz into full fu mode.

Weber gone and we got a big hole that Risto would never fill. Few can. Oh well.

 

[SnS]

All fair. I can see the wheels coming off the Flyers real early this season. If they truly want to win now, then you've got to resign Couturier and Giroux or that's going to be hanging over the team all season and they would have to be dealt by the deadline if not.

We all know that trading them for futures and rebuilding is a most shrewd move, but Fletcher is even a worse GM than I thought, or ownership is forcing him to do this.

Part 1 - I’m not even sure if they can get the terms right on SC or CG. It’ll be rough, they both deserve to win and I don’t see that happening here.

Part 2 - The vibe I’m getting, is he’s told to win but can make his own moves.

 

[Pavels Dog]

#13 in this draft is probably not going to be a great player. Probably.

But Risto definitely isn’t great.

 

[biturbo19]

Wow. Philly's blueline sure has seen an extensive overhaul this week. An awful lot of draft capital going into that, between this and paying to ship Ghost out to fit Ristolainen and Ellis in, but it suddenly looks a lot better as a unit.

Curious how the pairings will actually shake out. Whether it'll be Provorov-Ellis/Sanheim-Ristolainen that makes sense to me, or the other way round. But they've gone from being a little bit unbalanced with pieces that didn't quite fit together, to two solid Top-4 LHD and two solid Top-4 RHD. But i kind of like Ristolainen's chances of actually landing in a more appropriate role there, with a solid partner either way, which we've never really seen him in with Buffalo.

 

[DudeWhereIsMakar]

Huh???

They literally always draft busts. Or they do better after they're traded. Eichel is a different case because they didn't even develop him, he was ready for the NHL.

 

[mercury]

For the Flyers sake, I hope they finally deploy Risto correctly. At his best he's an offense-oriented defensivemen that plays and produces on the PP and doesn't have to face top competition. But for years Sabres coaches have tricked themselves into thinking he's big and therefore must play shutdown minutes. He can be a plus player if deployed right, but for the love of god don't make him your 25 minute shutdown guy.

Enamored with the return.

In other words, Shayne Gostisbehere? Great!

 

[SnS]

Wow. Philly's blueline sure has seen an extensive overhaul this week. An awful lot of draft capital going into that, between this and paying to ship Ghost out to fit Ristolainen and Ellis in, but it suddenly looks a lot better as a unit.

Curious how the pairings will actually shake out. Whether it'll be Provorov-Ellis/Sanheim-Ristolainen that makes sense to me, or the other way round. But they've gone from being a little bit unbalanced with pieces that didn't quite fit together, to two solid Top-4 LHD and two solid Top-4 RHD. But i kind of like Ristolainen's chances of actually landing in a more appropriate role there, with a solid partner either way, which we've never really seen him in with Buffalo.

Looks a lot worse to me. Sanheim and Risto or Provo and Risto won’t work at all.

 

[Ace]

There's nothing funnier than reading a player is "hard to play against" when all the other team does when he's on the ice is control the pick and score