The Toronto Maple Leafs are in a weird position coming out of the All-Star Break. They were considered favourites entering the 2023-24 season as one of the best teams on paper, but have been underwhelming so far. They lost their first game after All-Star weekend to the New York Islanders in a 3-2 defeat, bounced back with a massive 5-4 win over the Dallas Stars, but still find themselves fighting for their playoff lives. Luckily, they have games in hand on the Tampa Bay Lightning and Detroit Red Wings, both lower in the Atlantic Division, but the Maple Leafs will have to make some upgrades if they want any chance of making a deep run into the postseason.
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The Philadelphia Flyers have been a solid team this season and have been surprisingly strong after an underwhelming 2022-23 campaign. Under head coach John Tortorella, they have cleaned up their game in a big way defensively and find themselves fighting for a playoff spot in the extremely tight Metropolitan Division. While the playoffs seem likely, there is a chance they could slip out and if that happens, they could look to sell off some assets. Scott Laughton, Rasmus Ristolainen, and Nick Seeler could all end up being traded and there will be plenty of teams interested in all of them. If the Flyers look to trade Ristolainen though, the Maple Leafs should avoid trying to acquire him.
The Maple Leafs’ current defence core is strong enough to make a deep run into the postseason, but, understandably, they would like to improve the right side of their blue line. While Ristolainen brings physical size and a touch of offensive production, his defensive play is atrocious. He has improved in a big way under Tortorella’s system with its focus on defensive hockey, but he likely won’t find much success with the Maple Leafs; acquiring him and making him take on big minutes on the top-four would be the wrong choice.
Who Is Rasmus Ristolainen?
Ristolainen is a 29-year-old defenceman from Turku, Finland who stands 6-foot-4, 220 pounds, and was drafted in the first round of the 2013 NHL Entry Draft by the Buffalo Sabres at eighth overall. In his draft year, he represented his home country of Finland at the U20 World Junior Championship where he scored two goals and added four assists for six points through six games. In his first season, he scored two goals and added two assists for four points through 34 games with the Sabres, and spent 34 games in the American Hockey League (AHL) with the Rochester Americans where he scored six goals and added 14 assists for 20 points.
Since then, Ristolainen has remained in the NHL and has spent time with only the Sabres and Flyers. Through 712-career NHL games, he has scored 52 goals and added 233 assists for 285 points which comes out to a 0.40 points-per-game average. He has established himself as a defender who has physical strength but is a liability on the back end. As mentioned, his defensive game has improved under the new coaching staff, but he still isn’t great in his own end. For what the Flyers are likely going to want back for him, it makes no sense for the Maple Leafs to bring him in.
While plus/minus isn’t the best stat to use to decipher whether someone is good or bad defensively, it has to be noted that Ristolainen is a whopping minus-182 throughout his career. He also had 38 giveaways last season, which was the second-worst total of his career, and also had 28 high-danger chances against. He has slightly improved this season, having only seven high-danger goals against and seven giveaways at this point in the season, but he still hasn’t shown the improvements that would justify trading a massive package.
What Other Options Are Out There?
While there is no guarantee the Flyers will sell their assets at the March 8 trade deadline, they will be selling high if they choose to do so. Considering what the Flyers had to pay up to snag Ristolainen originally — a first-round pick, a second-round pick, and a player — they will surely be looking to even out the return they get for him and that’s not something the Maple Leafs should be interested in when there are better options out there.
According to TSN’s recent trade bait list, there are several better options available. The Calgary Flames’ Chris Tanev, the Edmonton Oilers’ Tyson Barrie, and the Columbus Blue Jackets’ Andrew Peeke and Adam Boqvist are all players who would benefit the Maple Leafs defensively instead of Ristolainen. They will surely be willing to pay a premium if they see an opportunity to make a massive move and bring in someone who could help them win a Stanley Cup, but Ristolainen is not that guy.
Hopefully, the Maple Leafs can make the right moves and bolster their roster before the trade deadline. If they can build a strong enough roster, which I’m sure they’ll be able to do, they should be the team to beat and could capture their first Stanley Cup since 1967.