Flyers Trade Deadline Candidates: Rasmus Ristolainen
Danny Briere set expectations for the NHL Trade Deadline when he joined 97.5 The Fanatic at the Flyers Charities Carnival. Will the struggling Philadelphia Flyers sell for the sixth straight…
Danny Briere set expectations for the NHL Trade Deadline when he joined 97.5 The Fanatic at the Flyers Charities Carnival. Will the struggling Philadelphia Flyers sell for the sixth straight deadline after losing 12 of 15 games before the Olympic break?
“It’s probably going to be on the quieter side. We’re not looking to unload unless something too good came to us. We’re not looking at rentals. We’re not ready for that. This is not the time to spend assets to try to just get in, to make a push for the playoffs. It might be a quieter deadline than it’s been the last couple years.”
After the deadline passes on Friday, March 6 at 3pm, the outlook on the Flyers and their long-term rebuild probably won’t have changed too drastically. However, Briere and the Flyers will consider trade options for Rasmus Ristolainen as their most valuable and sensible chip.
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Rasmus Ristolainen
It's not hard to imagine why Ristolainen is an attractive target for a Stanley Cup contender.
A 6-foot-4 bruising defenseman fits into the physical demands of tight seven-game series. He also plays the right side, which helps most NHL teams balance their blue line pairings.
Ristolainen turned some heads with Team Finland at the Winter Olympics. NBC broadcaster Eddie Olczyk consistently lauded the former eighth-overall pick during a tight matchup against Team Canada in the medal round. The exposure could add recency bias to boost trade value with only five Flyers games between the Olympic break and the NHL Trade Deadline.
The ingredients point to a potential return package centered around a first-round draft pick, likely from a contending team picking later in the draft order.
Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty ImagesBriere will explore potential trade options for a 31-year-old with only one season in 2026-27 remaining on his current deal. However, he will unquestionably face one major issue.
Ristolainen missed 94 regular-season games in first four seasons with the Flyers through 2024-25. An upper-body injury kept him out an additional 31 games before his 2025-26 season debut to December 16. Shortly after gaining some rhythm, he missed six more games in January. Questions have circulated about a lingering triceps problem. He's appeared in only 19 of 56 games this season.
The concerning injury history reportedly scared general managers away from making offers for Ristolainen at the NHL Trade Deadline in March 2025.
What would make them think differently one year later?
The 13-year NHL veteran corrected frequent lapses to remake his defensive game under John Tortorella and defensive coach Brad Shaw. He utilized skating ability and athleticism to become a reliable second-pair NHL defenseman.
However, no matter how big or physical Rasmus Ristolainen plays at his best, no contending NHL team will trade for a defenseman with a $5.1 million cap hit if they're not confident he'll be healthy enough to stay in a playoff lineup.
