It's been a tale of two stints with the Flyers for Rasmus Ristolainen. There was a time when most thought it was a mistake to sign him to a five-year deal. The Flyers would need to retain a healthy chunk of salary to move him. That is no more.
During his mid-season press conference earlier this week, Danny Briere highlighted the value of Ristolainen to the team and even went as far as to say that the team is not currently shopping him.
Under the direction of John Tortorella and defensive coach Brad Shaw, Ristolainen is playing some of his best hockey in years. It didn't seem that way when he first came over in the trade from Buffalo. He's also dealt with injuries that have limited his playing time. This was the first year that he played in a Flyers' season opener.
With two years left on his deal after this season, Ristolainen comes with plenty of control for a team looking. There are always teams looking for a player like Ristolainen come playoff time. And for someone dubbed as perfect for the playoffs, he has never gotten to play past the regular season.
There have been teams calling the Flyers about Ristolainen's status.
"There are teams that have called to inquire, but Risto has been so good, too, for us," Briere said. "He's not a rental. For us, there's no rush to trade him. We finally have him healthy, we finally have him playing extremely well. To find a right-shot D like that, to play in your top four, to play as physical as he does, they're tough to find. We have him here for us, too."
Despite being three points out of a playoff spot, Philadelphia is not expected to be a heavy contender. Even if they sneak in, something they failed to do last season, it's hard to see them making much noise against some of the other teams in the league. That means Briere will have another tough choice to make come the March 7 trade deadline.
"We get excited about trading him and thinking about the kind of return we can get, but I'm not shopping him, I'm not trying to get rid of him," Briere said. "He's a big asset for us and it would be a big hole if we ever have to lose him. I really don't know where it's going, but I can tell you, I'm not shopping him. I did receive some calls on him."
Once the ire of fans, Ristolainen has become someone that most believe is one of the team's best defensemen. That's a long way away from how most felt about him just a few years ago. He never became the offensive player he was thought to be, posting a combined eight goals and 53 points in four seasons with the Flyers.
That's not what the team expects from him at this point, though. He has gone from seeking out hits to playing more effectively and using his body in ways that help move the puck up the ice. He's not high up on the hits list, sitting 112th with 79. He's not putting the team down a man, collecting just eight minutes of penalty time. He is a player that has turned things around in Philadelphia.
The Flyers made the tough, but right call, last year when they traded Sean Walker to the Colorado Avalanche. Walker and Nick Seeler had formed a formidable pair and were arguably the Flyers best duo at the time. But knowing the circumstances of the team, Briere pulled the trigger.
In a similar position this year, the message is still the same.
"Nothing has changed, it's still the same for us," Briere said. "If there's something that makes sense for the future, we're going to look into it. I've had a lot of different conversations. Around the league, I think everybody is in the same spot, they're looking at what the options are and they're preparing for the deadline. There are many reasons for that, why it seems that it always happens closer to the deadline. I don't expect anything different this year."
There is a little over a month before the Flyers have to make a decision. But it sounds like it won't be an easy one for them and Rasmus Ristolainen.