With the 2026 Winter Olympics behind us and Team USA revelling in their first gold medal in 46 years, it is time to get back to the NHL. There are not even two weeks to go until the trade deadline, and we are hitting the ground running with trade chatter across the league. While they aren’t expected to be especially busy over the next week and a half, the Philadelphia Flyers do have defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen to keep an eye on.
Sources tell Daily Faceoff the Flyers got significant traction over the Olympic break on Ristolainen – and the interest increased as the tournament went on and his play with Finland continued to impress. Though the team has done its best to keep things tight to the vest on trade chatter surrounding the Olympian – reading the the tea leaves, it seems Ristolainen doesn’t seem particularly fond of the idea of being traded – I’ve heard five or six teams have checked in on Ristolainen over the last 14 days or so, and word is starting to circulate that interest is on the upswing.
As for what the Flyers are looking for in return, a package similar to what the Boston Bruins got for Brandon Carlo last year or what the Montreal Canadiens got for Ben Chiarot four years ago is in the ballpark. With one more year on his contract at a reasonable $5.1-million AAV, any acquiring team will get two cracks with Ristolainen in playoff hockey. The Flyers are also willing to retain (they have one retention spot left) on salary for the right price, according to sources.
Among the teams that have checked in on Ristolainen are the Bruins and Edmonton Oilers, though neither has stepped up as a “serious” landing spot to this point, according to sources.
Speaking with a source close to the situation in Boston, I got the sense that Ristolainen wasn’t someone the Bruins are especially high on, though they are “checking in on everyone” at this stage. Given that they were in on Rasmus Andersson before his eventual trade to the Vegas Golden Knights, it makes sense that the Bruins would at least do their due diligence on Ristolainen as a right-shot defenseman.
As for the Oilers, they have been on the lookout for a top-four, right-shot rearguard to play with Darnell Nurse since what feels like the beginning of time. According to PuckPedia, they have a little more than $1 million projected in deadline cap space, so it would take some financial gymnastics to absorb Ristolainen’s $5.1 million AAV – both this year and next. Forward Andrew Mangiapane’s name has been out there all season long – his season has been an unmitigated disaster in Edmonton – so he could theoretically go back the other way to make the dollars work.
As for other teams that could circle, though it is mainly speculative, the Dallas Stars, Detroit Red Wings and Tampa Bay Lightning all make sense as landing spots for Ristolainen.
The Stars are seemingly in the market for a top-four, right-shot defenseman on an annual basis, so this is no surprise. They were thought to be heavily in on Andersson, so Ristolainen would be a good consolation prize. The Stars have a little more than $3.2 million in cap space at the deadline, as they are operating in LTIR with Tyler Seguin, so there would have to be some creativity on the part of GM Jim Nill unless they place Seguin on season-ending LTIR, opening up his entire $9.85 million in cap space. They also don’t have their first-round pick this year, which is thought to be part of the price for Ristolainen. Two of their top defensemen in Miro Heiskanen and Esa Lindell are Ristolainen’s countrymen as well, if that makes any difference.
The Red Wings are finally primed to get back into the postseason; if they plan to make noise when they get there, a top-four defenseman (on either side) needs to be on the to-do list for GM Steve Yzerman. They have all the cap space in the world and have all their first round picks still intact, putting them ahead of the eight-ball in several regards compared to other potential landing spots. One player I wonder if the Flyers could target as part of a return is goaltender Sebastian Cossa, who is having a remarkable season in the AHL.
I believe the Lightning have shown interest in Ristolainen in past years, so if they are interested it isn’t a shock. They aren’t in particularly desperate need of a top-four defenseman, mind you, especially given the revelation of a season from pending UFA Darren Raddysh. unless Victor Hedman’s Olympic injury holds him out. With no first-round picks this year or next and not an especially deep prospect pool, the fit on either side probably isn’t as strong as it once was.
One name that could affect Ristolainen’s market is Calgary Flames defenseman MacKenzie Weegar, who teams have checked in on recently, a team source told Daily Faceoff. Weegar, 32, is under contract until 2031 and carries an AAV of $6.25 million, a significantly heavier commitment than Ristolainen. Weegar also has a full no-trade clause, which has complicated things for the Flames, according to sources. But it would be fair to assume any team potentially interested in Weegar could (and will) pivot to Ristolainen if all else fails.
After playing a significant role at the Olympics for Finland and helping his country win a bronze medal, the stock on Ristolainen is on the ascent. Given how much his play has trended upward over the last two and a half seasons, Ristolainen’s durability was the main point of concern for interested teams – a fear that has seemingly subsided from interested teams. With five Flyers games to go before the deadline, we may see Ristolainen’s name be more front and center on the trade front.
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