The Buffalo Sabres have spent the better part of the week trying to complete a trade with the St. Louis Blues. First, it was center Robert Thomas, but the two teams couldn't agree on a trade.
On Wednesday, the Sabres and Blues seemingly agreed to the trade package, but it was the player who stopped the trade this time. Colton Parayko has a full no-trade clause as part of his contract and declined to waive it to join the Sabres.
It is pretty clear at this point that Jarmo Kekalainen is not going to leave any stone unturned and is working diligently to get a trade done to improve the Sabres roster. After the news broke that Parayko was not waiving his no-trade clause, Elliotte Friedman was on The FAN Hockey Show and provided a player the Sabres may revisit as a possible trade target.
"I got to wonder if they circle back on Ristolainen," Friedman said. "I don't know if there is anyone else out there. I really haven't looked at it too hard yet, as it just happened, but I have to think they'll look at him and see what the options are with him and Philly."
Rasmus Ristolainen would provide the Buffalo Sabres the veteran depth they need on their blueline
There is no question that Rasmus Ristolainen is not the same caliber of player or has the same impact as Colton Parayko. However, Ristolainen could address the need the Sabres have on their defense.
Right now, they have a solid Top 4 that is producing with Rasmus Dahlin and Mattias Samuelsson as one pair and Bo Byram and Owen Power on the other. The concern is really on that third pair or planning if there is an injury to their blue line.
Conor Timmins hopefully will be returning shortly, and that will help, but it remains to be seen how effective he will be returning from his broken leg. Meanwhile, Michael Kesselring has struggled to make an impact due to several injuries over the season.
If the Sabres could add a Ristolainen, it would give them options for that third pair, and Lindy Ruff can play his best two. It also creates a backup plan if there is an injury down the stretch that avoids having to play Zach Metsa or Jacob Bryson for extended minutes.
Ristolainen began his career with the Buffalo Sabres after he was the eighth overall pick by Buffalo in the 2013 NHL Draft. He would play 542 games over eight seasons with the Sabres and was consistently near the top of the rotation with an average close to 24 minutes per game.
However, Ristolainen is certainly a risky trade target as he has missed several games over his tenure with the Flyers due to injuries. In fact, he has only played in 70 or more games once in the past seven seasons.
Could limiting his minutes help Ristolainen avoid injuries and be a key contributor for the Sabres? That is the big question that Jarmo Kekalainen needs to answer before making this type of trade.
However, if the two teams can agree to a trade, and that is a big if with the reported asking price, the contract isn't an issue, as Ristolainen doesn't have any kind of no-trade clauses in his current deal. This is also a move that would impact next season, as Ristolainen has one more year on his current deal after this season.
The Trade Deadline is less than 24 hours away, and the Sabres are set to play the Pittsburgh Penguins on Thursday night. This could help give Jarmo Kekalainen just a little more information as he tries to identify the biggest needs for the Sabres.