Entering the trade deadline, the Flyers' biggest piece to sell revolved around Rasmus Ristolainen. Would this be the year they would finally move on from the veteran? The answer was no as the Finnish defender remained on the roster past the deadline window.
The rumors suggested that the Flyers were looking for at least a first-round pick and an NHL-ready prospect. The reported return was linked to what Brandon Carlo fetched for the Bruins: Fraser Minten, a conditional first-round pick, and a fourth-round pick. Whether or not that was a comparable trade, the Flyers stuck to their guns.
Ristolainen's value was certainly at its highest after a rather impressive stint with Finland at the Olympics, helping his country earn a bronze medal. He returned to the Flyers, and his play kept up. He was proving to teams that not only could he stay healthy, but he could play the big minutes and do it successfully. This was the perfect time for the Flyers to capitalize on his high value.
But Ristolainen wasn't as on the trade block as it appears, according to General Manager Danny Briere.
"You guys made it a big story. I didn't know I was trying to sell him," Briere laughed during his post-deadline press conference. "You guys made it sound like we were dumping Risto for next to nothing. Look, at the end of the day, Risto has a lot of value to our team. I wasn't trying to dump Risto. I wasn't trying to get rid of him. I think the media turned it into a little bit of a circus, to be honest, and that's okay. I get it, it's part of my job to deal with that."
The fact of the matter is that the interest was there. Briere admitted that they fielded plenty of calls from interested teams after the initial rumors broke loose. But they never met the price that was given. And credit to Briere for not settling for what other teams may have been offering.
The belief has to be that the Flyers never received a good enough deal to think about moving on from Ristolainen. Briere wouldn't admit if a first-round pick was on the table, citing that it wouldn't be fair to other teams to put that information out. So we can only speculate that he either didn't have that offer or that the other pieces weren't enough to make it worth it.
"At the end of the day, it just did not make sense value-wise. There's nothing that made more sense to trade him for what he brings. Risto's an important leader in our room," Briere said. "I can promise you that our guys prefer having him on their side than playing against him. He's a type of defenseman that brings guys to the fight because he runs around, he hits guys, and he pisses off the opponents. There's a lot of value to that."
There is going to be plenty of concern that Ristolainen's value may never be higher than what it was heading into the deadline. His prior injury history is simply a fact. And there is no guarantee that his level of play will continue. But Briere made it clear that they weren't trying to move on from him in the first place.
That doesn't mean that conversations won't be had at a later time. Once the offseason hits and teams begin to reevaluate their rosters for next season, the conversations could pick back up. It's no secret that some teams look at what Stanley Cup winners had and try to emulate them. Just as the Flyers value the type of defenseman Ristolainen is, other teams do the same.
And as the Flyers continue to develop some of their younger defensemen, room will need to be created. It's similar to why Bobby Brink was traded. The team had a logjam at the wing and needed to find a way to open up room for other players. The deal was made to trade from a position of strength for a return at a position of need. The same will be done when players like the newly-added David Jiricek and Oliver Bonk push for a spot.
As Briere proved, he is not willing to back down from what he wants for his players. And that could be a good thing or a bad thing, depending on how you look at it. But it makes teams take him seriously, knowing that he isn't going to cave.
There are 20 games left in the season before we potentially do this all over again in the summer.