HockeyBuzz Hotstove: Which trade candidates should teams avoid?

Oh the Risto Take...this should be good

Hands off our angry Finn

Oh the Risto Take...this should be good
- DDM-Coga

I'm ready lol

How old is Risto? Who are some comparable defensemen who struggled on a bad team then hit 25,26 etc..... and took off? If I'm the swords Gm I'm not moving him

I'll defer on Risto to the rest of the Sabres hoard. All I can say is look where we finished last year.......on purpose.

How old is Risto? Who are some comparable defensemen who struggled on a bad team then hit 25,26 etc..... and took off? If I'm the swords Gm I'm not moving him
- Pet.m.d.

23

Brendan Smith, 26th and 39th picks for Lucic and 10th pick

I guess hoffman isnt even considered realistic at this point.

RistLOLainen

I'm ready lol
- Todd.Cordell

One thing to consider on the outlet passes: he's passing to Nolan, Josefson, larsson, Girgensons, Moulson, wilson and a cast of various other AHLers

Keith Yandle I think is a good example of what Risto is.

Yandle, 3rd year in the league: 69 games, 30 pts, -4. (Phoenix went 36-39-7)
Yandle, 5th year in the league: 82 games, 59 pts, +12 (Phoenix went 43-26-13)

I'd go on but I think this shows that despite a player's attributes, the success of the team can determine the success of the players as well. Yandle on a bad team is a 35pt guy, on a good team he's at 45-50.

He didn't start off as a dud, just as Risto does do some things well, but he needed other parts around him to work with. Risto isn't a Karlsson, he does not have the skill to play 25m a night by himself. As the team improves you will see him improve. I pray he is not traded.

RistLOLainen
-Feds91Stammer

"NORRIStolianen"- Garf

Avoid everyone but Abdelkader, Ericsson, and Helm.

One thing to consider on the outlet passes: he's passing to Nolan, Josefson, larsson, Girgensons, Moulson, wilson and a cast of various other AHLers
- jcragcrumple

Come on man....... He rarely plays with those guys...

Linemates

O'Reilly - 506 min
Reinhart - 406 min
Eichel - 368 min

Jordan Noaln- 184 min
Josepfson - 119 min

Come on man....... He rarely plays with those guys...

Linemates

O'Reilly - 506 min
Reinhart - 406 min
Eichel - 368 min

Jordan Noaln- 184 min
Josepfson - 119 min
- sbroads24

So he played with Jordan Nolan for about a third as much as Ryan. That sucks, that's a lot of time. Don't you think every minute played with those AHL guys is significantly harder than other bottom 6s around the league?

What about when he breaks 25 minutes in a night...does he get tired from over usage?

I'll hang up and listen.

Come on man....... He rarely plays with those guys...

Linemates

O'Reilly - 506 min
Reinhart - 406 min
Eichel - 368 min

Jordan Noaln- 184 min
Josepfson - 119 min
- sbroads24

So 2/7ths of his time with scrubs. It's still gonna hurt

So he played with Jordan Nolan for about a third as much as Ryan. That sucks, that's a lot of time. Don't you think every minute played with those AHL guys is significantly harder than other bottom 6s around the league?

I'll hang up and listen.
- RhinoFan

Yes, because he's the only D man in the league to be on the ice with 4th liners sometimes.

So 2/7ths of his time with scrubs. It's still gonna hurt
- jcragcrumple

Except his #'s don't get much better with our top lines.

These theories have been debunked numerous times by other people than myself.

Risto doesn't make his teammates better. In most cases they are actually worse when he's on the ice

Yes, because he's the only D man in the league to be on the ice with 4th liners sometimes.
- sbroads24

4/5 of these guys are gonna wash out of the league.

They're sub-4th liners

4/5 of these guys are gonna wash out of the league.

They're sub-4th liners
- jcragcrumple

And this is usually what happens with 4th liners.....everywhere

great blog Jan!

Risto plays all the top comp on a crap team...put him in Jake Gardiners spot in TO playing against weaker comp along with AM WN and his #'s would be a hell of a lot better...but instead we'll just compare him to guys playing different rolls on better teams.

Not saying he's Drew Doughty etc but some of these D get a bad rap from the anal community.

Risto is only 23 so I have to disagree with him being labeled as not worth taking a chance on. He has been on a terrible team as a number 1 D-man at a very young age. I think its way too soon to say he isn't going to be good. Maybe not a true number 1 but definitely a top 4 guy.

Risto is only 23 so I have to disagree with him being labeled as not worth taking a chance on. He has been on a terrible team as a number 1 D-man at a very young age. I think its way too soon to say he isn't going to be good. Maybe not a true number 1 but definitely a top 4 guy.
- Mino42

Buffalo's adding Dhalin...so like, why the frank wouldn't they want to see how those two pan out together??