For a while, we've been hearing the rumors. It seems to come up every year. The Flyers are interested in trading defender Rasmus Ristolainen. Maybe he'd fetch a first-round pick. Perhaps he'd fetch more. Maybe the Flyers aren't "shopping him". For the last two or three years, most trade rumors have centered on him and Scott Laughton. So far, nothing has happened. And then the Flyers traded away Morgan Frost and Joel Farabee. So, who knows? Anything is possible right now.
With the Four Nations Tournament winding down and the NHL getting back to normal, the teams that are destined for the playoffs have just a few weeks to make the moves that they feel are necessary to sustain a long and deep playoff run.
From all appearances, it looks as if the Flyers will be sitting this playoff season out...again. Does that mean they are sellers? If so, who? Again, Ristolainen's name has been coming up a lot lately. With that said, here is an interestingly bold proposal.
The Trade
Why the Flyers Make the Trade
If the Flyers want to get better, they have to make some difficult decisions, much like moving Farabee and Frost. Ristolainen is one of the few assets the Flyers have that could bring some good return without neutering the team for more years than necessary.
Christian Kyrou and Lian Bichsel are two NHL-ready prospects who are highly regarded. That will take the sting out of losing Ristolainen; a player who has greatly improved his defensive abilities over the last few seasons. While getting both would be awesome, Dallas would most certainly not do that. However, to earn the services of Ristolainen for this year and next year will cost the Stars one of their top young defenders.
Likewise, Dallas will have to cough up one of their forward prospects. Emil Hemming is an outside sniper the Flyers desperately need; especially after losing Farabee. He might make a great linemate with Matvei Michkov in future seasons.
Finally, Dallas is draft pick depleted (more on this later). Asking for a first-round pick two years from now will help take the sting out of that. It will also help stomach losing two top prospects. The Stars do not have a first or second-round pick this season. This will allow them to keep next year's top pick.
Why the Stars Make the Trade
First of all, you can never have enough quality defenders. Dallas is gunning for that top spot in the Western Conference and a defender like Ristolainen could get them there. They are currently second in the West and would love to secure that position.
Ristolainen brings a physical aspect that they could use, but he has learned how to be a solid "stay-at-home" defender under John Tortorella and Brad Shaw's tutelage. He can easily slide in next to Matt Dumba, fellow Finn Miro Heiskanen, or Thomas Harley. The Stars have a pretty solid defensive unit as it. Ristolainen would just solidify that.
The sticking price is that Ristolainen's cap hit of $5.1 million is just a hair over what Dallas has to spend next year. Maybe the Flyers would have to eat a small chunk of that for the next two years or the Stars could figure out something else in another deal. Perhaps the NHL will raise the salary cap higher than what we expect.
Finally, because of the salary cap issues and losing two prospects, the second-round pick will help lessen the blow of losing a future first-round pick. It also gives the Stars an earlier pick in this year's draft; because as of right now, they aren't picking until late in the third round.
Final Analysis
It's unclear what Ristolainen is worth to other teams at this point. Maybe Daniel Briere is serious when he says they don't want to trade him. Maybe he is trying to drive up the price. However, the addition of a couple of top-level prospects and another first-round pick might be too enticing to pass up.
Here's the other thing. Briere doesn't have to trade Ristolainen. He's under contract for two more years. He's not demanding a trade nor will be a pending free agent who's ready to bolt. The reason the Stars would have to offer two high prospects plus a future first-rounder is that they wouldn't be getting a rental. They'd be getting a high-quality player that they can use to bolster their defense for two more potential Stanley Cup runs. That doesn't come cheap.