Will Ristolainen be in Play This Summer?
Dave Pagnotta of The Fourth Period on the TFP Hotstove was asked about what the Philadelphia Flyers will do this offseason or into next season after moving Nic Deslauriers and Bobby Brink. Could Ramus Ristolainen be in play in the offseason and even into next season after not being moved at the Trade Deadline?
NHLRumors.com Transcriptions
NHL Rumors: One Trade Didn’t Make it in, in Time
Peter Berce: “Philly. I think they were close on something, and they moved on Bobby Brink, but what else were Danny Briere and the Flyers looking to achieve?”
Dave Pagnotta: “They moved, yeah, they moved (Bobby) Brink to Minny. They moved (Nic) Deslauriers to Carolina. They were very, very close to trading Rasmus Ristolaninen. There was a deal on the table. They liked it at first, and then it sounded like it fizzled right at the end, where they got, I don’t want to say cold feet, but second thoughts clearly about it. But, I was told that Rasmus Ristolainen was very, very, very close to being traded.
All it took was the Flyers just to be like, ‘All right, let’s do this.’ Because I think they liked the return. But, having second thoughts on it, they ultimately decided to hold on to Ristolainen, who’s going to enter the final year of his contract next season. It’s a $5.1 million cap hit. He does not have no trade protection, and really it’s not a trade deadline without hearing a guy like Rasmus Ristolainen’s name out there. So at least we have that to look forward to next season.”
NHLRumors.com Note: We know there were multiple teams interested in Ristolainen, including the Boston Bruins and Montreal Canadiens. We know Montreal had a couple of deals that did fall apart, but teams backed out at the last minute and couldn’t cross the finish line.
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But this is a player the Flyers could revisit in the offseason. However, will injuries and his recovery from injuries play a factor in the price? We know the Flyers wanted a Brandon Carlo-type return of a first-round pick plus a prospect or NHL-ready player.
It will be interesting to see what GM Danny Briere does with the Flyers moving forward.
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