Buffalo Sabres – Ristolainen for Hall, Food for Thought

The Buffalo Sabres were on the side-lines for a couple of major trades that occurred this off-season. In this post I will focus on the idea of trading Rasmus Ristolainen for Taylor Hall.

Now I do realize that Taylor Hall has already been traded for a high potential right shot defensemen. If that trade between the Oilers and Devils did not happen should we have been involved? Imagine the Buffalo Sabres doing a one for one trade where Taylor Hall comes our way and Rasmus Ristolainen heads to the Oilers.

The vast majority of the hockey community (self-included) believe that the Oilers lost the trade with the Devils. This is essentially stating that Taylor Hall as an individual player has more value than Adam Larsson. I can understand why the Oilers made that move, and the signing of Milan Lucic will help to offset some of the offensive loss. With that being said, it certainly seems like the Oilers could have gotten more when giving up a player of Hall’s caliber.

Traveling back through time…

Taylor Hall is still a member of the Edmonton Oilers. It is known across the league that they are in desperate need of a high end right shot defensemen. The Buffalo Sabres have a GM in Tim Murray that is not afraid to make big moves. So, the question remains, would you trade Rasmus Ristolainen for Taylor Hall straight up? Let’s take a look at some of the metrics on Taylor Hall…

As you can see, Taylor Hall is a top line left winger. When looking at most advanced metrics Taylor Hall is one of the most effective offensive players in the league, and should be considered a top 5 LW when healthy.

Rasmus Ristolainen is a blossoming top pairing right-handed defensemen who is just coming into his own. The “fancy stats” aren’t quite as kind to Ristolainen, however that could be attributed to growing pains when facing the top lines of opposing teams. Also, it’s likely that Ristolainen’s advanced stats would improve by simply managing his ice-time a bit better.

Interest on both sides

The Sabres have a need for top line LW, especially when dealing with the uncertainties surrounding Evander Kane. Tim Murray wants to build a team based on speed and skill, both of which Taylor Hall has plenty of. Adding another dynamic forward like Hall would make it that much tougher for opposing teams to deal with the Buffalo Sabres newly revamped offense. Hall also still has 4 years left on his contract (in his prime) at a manageable $6 million cap hit.

The Oilers would be interested in Rasmus Ristolainen for a number of reasons. Ristolainen is a promising young defensemen on an upward trajectory. He was able to put 41 points last season at 21 years old. He is a right shot defensemen that bring talent, poise, and some physicality. Ristolainen is currently an RFA and could be signed for a number of years. Also, so far in this off-season Ristolainen has shown on an international level that he can play with the best of the best.

This decision would actually be very difficult for me to make. Obviously getting rid of Ristolainen would create a hole on our right side, with no one immediately identifiable as a top pairing RHD. I’m curious to hear what your thoughts are, and if you would have made this trade. Also, feel free to add a pick or prospect going one way or the other if you feel that makes it more even.

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I look forward to hearing your thoughts in the comments section, thank you as always for reading!