Eight trade destinations to watch for Flyers’ Rasmus Ristolainen

Credit: Nov 18, 2024; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen (55) against the Colorado Avalanche at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-Imagn Images

With less two months until the 2025 NHL Trade Deadline March 7, we’re delivering at least one deadline-focused story every day at Daily Faceoff.

Today, we explore potential fits for towering Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen, one of the top options potentially available in a relatively down year for righthanded blueliners on the trade market.

2025 NHL Trade Deadline countdown: 45 days

It’s funny how a player can be so maligned until he isn’t. Rasmus Ristolainen is a prime example. As a Buffalo Sabre, rushed to the NHL as a teenager, he quickly became emblematic of the eye test gone wrong, lambasted for his terrible underlying numbers. He was the exciting 6-foot-4 first-round pick whose tools didn’t translate to on-ice success. But the Flyers took the “I can fix him” approach when they acquired him in July 2021 and re-signed him on a five-year, $25.5 million contract the following year. Once the John Tortorella era began in 2022-23, we started to see tangible changes in Ristolainen, especially under the tutelage of associate coach Brad Shaw. As my colleague Anthony Di Marco has reported throughout this season, the Flyers and GM Danny Briere are pretty satisfied with Ristolainen as a middle-pair defenseman now. He’s found a way to make himself decent defensively using his huge reach and physicality. The two highest 5-on-5 on-ice expected goal shares of his career have come in the past two seasons.

That isn’t to say Ristolainen is ever going to win a Norris Trophy, but at 30, well rounded and playing solid defensive hockey, he actually makes for a pretty appealing trade target, which is why he currently lands at No. 10 on Daily Faceoff insider Frank Seravalli’s board. There’s a dearth of big, mobile right-shooters available, and Ristolainen qualifies as a luxury non-rental since he carries two more seasons on his deal at a $5.1 million AAV. Because of those extra years left and the fact he’s an important player for them, the Flyers don’t have to trade him. It’s thus no wonder Briere reportedly wants a first-round pick or the equivalent in any trade for him. The Flyers have a decent amount of leverage, especially when they’re still in the Eastern Conference Wildcard hunt.

That said, this franchise understands it’s still early in its rebuild and would consider a playoff berth gravy this season. If Briere receives a quality offer for Ristolainen, Briere likely bites. Which potential suitors would be the best fits for his services? Consider these eight teams. Yes, eight. It’s a right-shot defenseman, after all.

Dallas Stars

Why he makes sense: The Stars need help on the right side of their blueline. We’ve known that since they lost Chris Tanev last offseason. Ilya Lyubushkin and Matt Dumba were stopgaps, not adequate replacements. Ristolainen would fit Dallas’ needs perfectly and, given they have Finns Miro Heiskanen and Esa Lindell in that D-corps, the dressing room transition would be comfortable in theory for Ristolainen. The extra two years of team control would come in handy for a team that has a wide contention window, too. Dallas should also have cap space to spare with Tyler Seguin’s $9.5 million expected to go on LTIR.

Fly in the ointment: If the Flyers want a first-round pick, could it be a sticking point for Jim Nill? His team has picked in Round 1 in 11 of the 12 Drafts since he took over as GM. When your scouting staff is as good as Dallas’, led by director of amateur scouring Joe McDonnell, it pays to cherish your picks. The Stars also have to allocate some of their cap space to secure an impact middle-six center given they aren’t guaranteed to get Seguin back by the postseason.

Detroit Red Wings

Why he makes sense: Did anyone aside from Steve Yzerman actually think Justin Holl was going to cut it on the right side of that blueline when he signed in 2023? He’s been every bit the disaster we knew he’d be. Erik Gustafsson has never been a big minute muncher, either, and has played the left side of late anyway, so Detroit badly needs to upgrade at right defense. This team desperately wants a playoff berth this season, but the extra years of Ristolainen at least make him less of an “all the eggs in one basket” target. It’s never a bad thing for a bubble team to secure help for more than one season. Having missed the playoffs eight consecutive campaigns, the Wings also have an incredibly deep pool of prospects to dangle Philadelphia’s way, including plenty in the right price range to include in a Ristolainen deal.

Fly in the ointment: The Wings rank among the worst defensive play-driving teams in the NHL. Would throwing Ristolainen at the problem actually repair that? It’s debatable whether he’d be enough, even though he’s improved defensively. I get that Detroit wants to halt its postseason drought, but is it worth paying a significant price just to nudge a middling team into the final Wildcard spot and get bulldozed by the top seed in the East in Round 1? More of a cautious buying posture would make more sense. As an example: you could pay less and target someone like Will Borgen. The Wings would also need to send some money the Flyers’ way to fit Ristolainen’s cap hit onto the books; I see no reason why the Flyers would need to retain money on Ristolainen given their strong bargaining position.

Edmonton Oilers

Why he makes sense: Wait, what? The Oilers just shored up their right side with John Klingberg, right? Okay, his skill set makes him a decent direct backup to Evan Bouchard, but Klingberg does not make Edmonton harder to play against. You could make the case the Oilers haven’t actually filled their defensive hole on the right side. If they truly want to finish last spring’s job and win the Stanley Cup this season, they could instal Ristolainen as a middle-pair minute muncher whose game should translate well to playoff warfare (yes, should: he has never played a postseason game, 11.5 seasons into his career).

Fly in the ointment: The Oilers aren’t rich with assets. The Flyers actually acquired Edmonton’s 2025 first-round pick already at the Draft last season. Their farm system ranks among the league’s weakest, an understandable symptom of playing in the peak win-now years of Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. Also: it’s risky for Edmonton to make any impulsive deals that put future money on the books. They need to be wise with their payroll for 2025-26 and 2026-27, as Draisaitl’s $14 million AAV kicks in the next season, and McDavid’s skull-and-crossbones AAV arrives for 2026-27 if and when he re-signs. As much as the Oilers yearn for a Stanley Cup now, they may kick themselves if they have $5.1 million invested on a middle-pair blueliner for the next two seasons.

Florida Panthers

Why he makes sense: The Panthers aren’t quite as fierce as they were last season, which is understandable: when you win the Stanley Cup, it’s too expensive to retain everyone. They had to let some important players go as UFAs, including defensemen Brandon Montour and Oliver Ekman-Larsson. Should they decide not to hand over their champion status without a fight, they could paper over the hole on their blueline with 2.5 seasons of Ristolainen.

Fly in the ointment: The Panthers are capped out, they don’t have a 2025 first-round pick and they don’t have much to offer in the way of prospects. They’d be a relatively easy team to outbid if another suitor wanted Ristolainen badly enough. They also have to make important decisions this summer on core UFAs Sam Bennett and Aaron Ekblad, so it might be wiser for GM Bill Zito to rent a blueliner on an expiring deal instead.

Tampa Bay Lightning

Why he makes sense: The Lightning are more competitive than many of us probably expected given their recent downward trajectory and decision to divorce from Steven Stamkos and Mikhail Sergachev. By signing Jake Guentzel and trading for J.J. Moser, perhaps wizard GM Julien BriseBois rewound his team’s contention window slightly. Does that mean the Bolts can buy at the deadline and work on repairing a thin right side of their D-corps? Erik Cernak could use some help as the top physical presence; his heavy game wears him down. His career high in games played is 70.

Fly in the ointment: Tampa has no first-rounder for the 2025 NHL Draft, and DFO prospect analyst Steven Ellis ranks their prospect pool dead last in the league. Their current cap space sits below $2 million, so BriseBois would have to get creative moving a chunky salary Philadelphia’s way if he wants to accommodate Ristolainen.

Toronto Maple Leafs

Why he makes sense: While Chris Tanev has been exactly what Toronto dreamed he’d be, bringing his elite shutdown skills to the right side of their blueline, Toronto needs another top-four guy. Ideally, they’d have one of Philippe Myers or Conor Timmins in the lineup and on the third pair rather than legitimately needing both or playing Oliver Ekman-Larsson on his right (inferior) side when they dress Simon Benoit. Ristolainen would instantly repair the problem.

Fly in the ointment: Would the acquisition cost for Ristolainen prove too high for Leafs GM Brad Treliving? Unlike previous GM Kyle Dubas, Treliving tends to play things conservatively in his deadline deals. It’s also risky to put more than $5 million on the 2025-26 books when Toronto has The Mitch Marner Decision to figure out with his contract expiring July 1.

Vancouver Canucks

Why he makes sense: Have you seen Quinn Hughes’ facial expression lately? It’s hangdog even for him. The young man is doing herculean things keeping his Canucks afloat, earning plenty of momentum for a second consecutive Norris Trophy and maybe even a healthy amount of Hart Trophy votes. The discrepancy in pretty much every stat, from goals to expected goals to scoring chances, is unbelievably skewed when he’s on versus off the ice. If this extremely unpredictable team still fashions itself a 2024-25 contender amid the J.T. Miller/Elias Pettersson noise, it needs to deepen its D-corps.

Fly in the ointment: Are we sure the Canucks don’t have this type of blueline already in spades? Tyler Myers. Noah Juulsen. Vincent Desharnais. How many additional big, long, mean right-shot blueliners can you add? I’ve included the Canucks because of outside scuttlebutt linking him to Ristolainen, but I personally don’t think he’s actually what they need.

Winnipeg Jets

Why he makes sense: As I mentioned when linking Winnipeg to Brock Nelson last week: the Jets are near the top of the NHL pyramid for a second consecutive season and should probably go all in again given Mark Scheifele, Connor Hellebuyck, Kyle Connor and Josh Morrissey are in their primes and Nikolaj Ehlers is a pending UFA. Ristolainen’s physicality would be a welcome addition, and with Dylan DeMelo and Neal Pionk aboard, Ristolainen could even be a third-pair option if the Jets prefer him there. He would be particularly helpful for Winnipeg’s penalty kill, which hovers below 80 percent on the year. The Jets also have a solid collection of prospects and all their upcoming first-round picks and would be better equipped to pursue Ristolainen than most of their competition.

Fly in the ointment: Similar to the Stars, the Jets are a really nice fit for Ristolainen on paper and, similar to the Stars, the Jets need help at center, too. Unlike Dallas, though, Winnipeg doesn’t have a big chunk of LTIR spending to anticipate. If they want to chase a No. 2 center and an upgrade on D, they may only have cap space for one or the other but not both unless they send money out.

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Eight trade destinations to watch for Flyers’ Rasmus Ristolainen

2025 NHL Trade Deadline countdown: 45 days

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