Friedman: Rasmus Ristolainen has a lot of potential buyers this summer

[jonu]

I don't why Botteril is trying to get rid of a young D man when Buffalo should be adding to their defence in all likelihood.

Well as much as it hurts to say, getting rid of Ristolainen is like getting rid of a forward. They don't necessarily need points from the blueline, they need someone who can eat minutes in their own end reliably.

 

[thadd]

If someone on TSN suggests Edmonton should pick him up I'm getting a time machine, going back to before 1998 and I'm going to winnuke the hell out of all of TSN's computers until they go out of business. TSN it was so cool when you were a new, but you've lost your relevance. I'm sorry. I love you. Goodbye.

 

[tsujimoto74]

I don't why Botteril is trying to get rid of a young D man when Buffalo should be adding to their defence in all likelihood.

Eh, we have FAR more pressing needs at forward, but yeah, I don't see why Botterill seems hellbent on gradually trading away every good player we had before he got here. Guy has that massive head, but it seems like most of the real estate in there isn't being put to good use.

 

[Liferleafer]

Speaking to the Kadri idea...i have no issue teading Kadri (or Nylander) for a solid RHD, but Risto's defense is horribad, not a good fit with Toronto.

 

[The Moose is Loose]

top 5 pick + Sekera + cap for Risto? Something Chiarelli would do, shame he is not with Oilers anymore.

2020 1st rounder, hopefully for the Oilers its not a top 5 pick but honestly it could be

 

[JoemAvs]

There will be an insane amount of offensive minded (or atleast gifted offensively) dmen available in this offseason.

Risto, Brodie, one of Subban/Ellis, Faulk (not sure about him), Barrie (especially if contract negotiations go as I expect them to go).

Also a certain Erik Karlsson will probably hit UFA...

I guess if you want to get help offensively from the backend, this will be the offseason to do it. And given the amount of options available, it probably also won't be as expensive as in the years previously...

 

[BatVader]

The Jets don’t really have any interest in Ristolainen.

No... you don’t have interest in Risto.... lots of the rest of us do.

 

[Snowman]

No... you don’t have interest in Risto.... lots of the rest of us do.

I haven't seen very many Jets fans if any wanting Risto. Other than you.

The Jets can't afford the massive drop in quality. They'd be better off going after prospects/picks.

 

[Chainshot]

I haven't seen very many Jets fans if any wanting Risto. Other than you.

The Jets can't afford the massive drop in quality. They'd be better off going after prospects/picks.

Anecdotally, I remember a time when Buffalo fans were being told how terrible Tyler Myers was by everyone else. He was regularly roasted on Canadian sports out that’s like TSN and Sportsnet. And yet when he went to Winnipeg, he didn’t actually change his game… He was just playing out a better team. And now he’s considered a halfway decent defenseman, doing exactly the same things that he was doing when he was in Buffalo where according to talking heads he was not good.

This doesn’t mean Rasmus will have a Renaissance somewhere else, but it might be that playing on a bad team in a giant roll is not good for anyone.

 

[Snowman]

Anecdotally, I remember a time when Buffalo fans were being told how terrible Tyler Myers was by everyone else. He was regularly roasted on Canadian sports out that’s like TSN and Sportsnet. And yet when he went to Winnipeg, he didn’t actually change his game… He was just playing out a better team. And now he’s considered a halfway decent defenseman, doing exactly the same things that he was doing when he was in Buffalo where according to talking heads he was not good.

This doesn’t mean Rasmus will have a Renaissance somewhere else, but it might be that playing on a bad team in a giant roll is not good for anyone.

That could very well be. However, I'm not willing to throw away a legitimate top pairing RHD on the *chance* that Risto might play better for us.

 

[Liferleafer]

Honest question to Sabres fans, do you think this kid can find a defensive game? I like 2 3rds of his game....points and physical, but whenever i watch him, he just looks lost in the D zone. I'm not sure that can be corrected.

As a Leafs fan, if he could improve his D game, i would be very interested.

 

[Mattilaus]

Honest question to Sabres fans, do you think this kid can find a defensive game? I like 2 3rds of his game....points and physical, but whenever i watch him, he just looks lost in the D zone. I'm not sure that can be corrected.

As a Leafs fan, if he could improve his D game, i would be very interested.

If he could improve his D game why would we trade him?

 

[Liferleafer]

If he could improve his D game why would we trade him?

Fair response. Next question is, if he can't, why would a team pay a fortune in assets for him?

 

[grapes55]

Well as much as it hurts to say, getting rid of Ristolainen is like getting rid of a forward. They don't necessarily need points from the blueline, they need someone who can eat minutes in their own end reliably.

Eh, we have FAR more pressing needs at forward, but yeah, I don't see why Botterill seems hellbent on gradually trading away every good player we had before he got here. Guy has that massive head, but it seems like most of the real estate in there isn't being put to good use.

Hmm fair point, I just feel like a deal for Risto is gonna bite the Sabres in the ass unless they have a guy stepping in who's an upgrade. That could be one of your D prospects but right now it seems too risky.

As a Leafs fan though, I wouldn't mind seeing this mistake made

 

[Fjordy]

Honest question to Sabres fans, do you think this kid can find a defensive game? I like 2 3rds of his game....points and physical, but whenever i watch him, he just looks lost in the D zone. I'm not sure that can be corrected.

As a Leafs fan, if he could improve his D game, i would be very interested.

I think he can. If we consider the example of Toronto, put it in the second pair with Muzzin and let's play for 20-22 minutes per night, not 24+ as in Buffalo. You have better goaltender, the depth of in attack, too, better, I realistically believe, that Risto can flourish with a change of environment, have him in every season was a long games, where he showed reliable game and committed not so many mistakes, the first 30 games past season he was very good, but then was bad, like the whole team.

 

[Liferleafer]

I think he can. If we consider the example of Toronto, put it in the second pair with Muzzin and let's play for 20-22 minutes per night, not 24+ as in Buffalo. You have better goaltender, the depth of in attack, too, better, I realistically believe, that Risto can flourish with a change of environment, have him in every season was a long games, where he showed reliable game and committed not so many mistakes, the first 30 games past season he was very good, but then was bad, like the whole team.

Ok, so what's the ask from Toronto?

 

[sufferer]

I wouldn't categorize Ristolainen as "good" for the first part of this past season. He was still extremely suspect defensively and cost us a few games in overtime with completely braindead plays. He was merely decent during the win streak, wherein the team was outplayed for more than half of those games and won by the skin of their teeth via clutch goaltending/goal scoring. The ask should be in the ballpark of what we paid to land Montour, unless a team is enamored by Risto's four consecutive 40+ point seasons, handedness, size and semi-effective physicality.

 

[Fjordy]

Ok, so what's the ask from Toronto?

Kadri, Nylander, Kapanen, Johnsson, I could see a deal around one of them, but we really need a 2C, Kadri and Nylander more interesting options one can fill the hole in the center and add the grit team, William also can temporary 2C, and then if Mittelstadt will progress, he can go on the wing.

 

[Fjordy]

I wouldn't categorize Ristolainen as "good" for the first part of this past season. He was still extremely suspect defensively and cost us a few games in overtime with completely braindead plays. He was merely decent during the win streak, wherein the team was outplayed for more than half of those games and won by the skin of their teeth via clutch goaltending/goal scoring. The ask should be in the ballpark of what we paid to land Montour, unless a team is enamored by Risto's four consecutive 40+ point seasons, handedness, size and semi-effective physicality.

Don't know, I thought in the beginning of the season Risto was more reliable than usual, and even brought a couple of important victories in OT.

 

[Mattilaus]

Fair response. Next question is, if he can't, why would a team pay a fortune in assets for him?

Well firstly I never said he was worth a fortune and I would challenge you to prove that anywhere near the majority of fans think he is worth a fortune. Insinuating we think he is worth a fortune is hyperbole. If you have the very reasonable question of "why is he worth anything then?" The answer is quite simple. Some teams could use a mid/bottom pairing D man who will excel if given pp time and ozone starts rather than being relied upon 25 minutes a night. Ristolainen being poor defensively doesn't mean he is worthless and that his other attributes have no value, it just means he isn't the right fit for what you want. Do you really think Buffalo trades away a big, hard hitting, 45 point D man who can play good defense? Do you really think a big, hard hitting, 45 point D man who is questionable on his back end is not desirable by any team in the NHL?

I don't understand this thinking that since he doesn't fit what leaf fans want then all of a sudden he has no value to anybody.

 

[Uberpecker]

Honest question to Sabres fans, do you think this kid can find a defensive game? I like 2 3rds of his game....points and physical, but whenever i watch him, he just looks lost in the D zone. I'm not sure that can be corrected.

As a Leafs fan, if he could improve his D game, i would be very interested.

The truth is, we have no idea.

Not once has he had a capable d-partner for an extended period of time (Scandella last year and briefly Pilut this year were the closest to that so far), not once was he deployed in a way fitting to his skillset and state of development, not once has had decent coaching: He got smothered with big minutes and had little help pretty much from the beginning of his NHL-career. Which was probably because he looked like a future superstar, he was better than Jones and Ekblad initially.

Now, that's obviously water under the bridge, but it's not like he's old either. Many good d-men don't hit their stride until their mid-20ies.

At worst, he's a physical 40+ point right-handed PPQB who shouldn't be the best player defensively on his pairing.

 

[VanJack]

Fair response. Next question is, if he can't, why would a team pay a fortune in assets for him?

What happened to this player?....so promising earlier in his career but a trainwreck defensively that last couple of years.....has he just lost his confidence playing defense for a bad hockey team? Or is this is what you're going to get if you acquire him? That cap hit of $5.5m a season will scare off a lot of teams.

 

[tsujimoto74]

Ok, so what's the ask from Toronto?

The sun, moon, etc. No interest in helping a division rival plug the biggest hole on their roster.

 

[Dr Quincy]

This doesn’t mean Rasmus will have a Renaissance somewhere else, but it might be that playing on a bad team in a giant roll is not good for anyone.

Yeah I'd have to think it would be really hard to skate backwards when you are in a giant one of these. (Do I get bonus pts from Sabres fans for making it a Weck?)

 

[Chainshot]

Yeah I'd have to think it would be really hard to skate backwards when you are in a giant one of these. (Do I get bonus pts from Sabres fans for making it a Weck?)

You do! My voice to text leaves me with these wonderful moments regularly. That my phone can occasional spell player names blows me away.