With the NHL trade freeze ending last night, the Philadelphia Flyers may have multiple offers to consider on defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen.
The Finnish defenseman is coming back to the NHL with a bronze medal and an enhanced reputation for his ability to help a hockey team. He was an impressive plus-9 in the Olympic tournament while playing a top four role for the Finns. Devon Toews (Canada) was the only other defenseman with a plus-minus at that level.
Ristonlainen was plus-2 with one assist in the bronze medal win over Slovakia.
Ristolainen, 31, posted three assists in the tournament and played his usual physical style. It’s hard to believe any Olympian improved his trade value more than Ristolainen. He has one season remaining on a contract paying him $5.1 million for this season or next. He’s also a right-shot.
A trade return would most certainly include a first-round pick. The question for the Flyers is: Do they really want to trade him? If they seriously want a quick turnaround to competitiveness, Ristolainen can certainly be part of it.
Other tidbits:
2. In the DNA: Hockey has always been a family affair, especially when it comes to the NHL. Maurice and Henri Richard. Frank and Pete Mahovlich. Phil and Tony Esposito. Bobby and Dennis Hull. Then Bobby’s son Brett Hull. The six Sutter brothers. The Sedin twins. Everyone has a favorite. But family connections on USA’s gold medal team are special. Jack and Quinn Hughes both played starring roles for Team USA. Matthew and Brady Tkachuk, sons of American legend Keith Tkachuk, playing together. But the best of all might be Brock Nelson becoming the third generation of gold medal winners in his family. His grandfather Bill Christian won the gold with the 1960 U.S. team in Squaw Valley and then his uncle Dave Christian won in 1980 in Lake Place. Now Nelson has added the 2026 gold to the family collection.
3. Elite Prospect: The way six-foot-three Latvian defenseman Alberts Smits played against NHL competition at the Olympics, he should land in the top five at the 2026 NHL Draft.
4. Bust Debate: Amid trade rumor debate on social media, I saw debate over whether Alexis Lafreniere (No. 1, 2020) is a candidate for the biggest bust among No. 1 draft picks. Not even close. He does have 104 goals in 437 games. That’s almost a goal every four games. The least productive No. 1 over the past 15 years is Nail Yakupov (Edmonton Oilers, No. 1, 2012) who washed out of the NHL in six seasons. He totaled 62 goals in 350 games. Lafreniere may not score as many goals as fans would like, but he will have a full NHL career. By the way, Yakupov, 32, is still playing in the KHL. This season, he has nine goals and eight assists for 17 points in 37 games for Omsk Avangard.
5. Goodbye, Jags?: Jaromir Jagr is talking about retiring at age 54. That’s two years beyond how long Gordie Howe played in the NHL. Last season, Jagr posted five goals and 11 assists for 16 points in 39 games for Kladno. This season he shows one assist in six games. At Jagr’s age, you have to see him retired to believe it. The man loves to play.
6. Bumpy Road Ahead: A look at teams with the toughest schedules when NHL play resumes, five of the top eight are in the Atlantic Division. The Pittsburgh Penguins have the most difficult schedule (opponents have a combined .590 points percentage, followed by the Boston Bruins (.586), Calgary Flames (.582), Tampa Bay Lightning (.579), Detroit Red Wings (.578), Columbus Blue Jackets (.578), Buffalo Sabres (.576) and Montreal Canadiens (.575).
7. Greatest Minor Leaguer: Guyle Fielder, considered the Gordie Howe of the minor leagues, died last week at 95. Fielder actually played a couple of NHL games on Howe’s line in a brief stint with the Detroit Red Wings. But he only played nine NHL games. But the Idaho native’s claim to fame was that he was a dominant performer in the now-defunct Western Hockey League (The pro league, not the CHL version). Most of his time was spent with the Seattle Americans or Seattle Totems. He is considered the greatest minor league player of all-time (1952-1973) He holds the minor league scoring record, although his total points are in dispute. He won the WHL scoring title nine times. According to hockeydb, Fielder never had fewer than 70 points in the WHL from 1953-54 to 1967-68.
8.Search for More Goals: The Los Angeles Kings have only scored 92 even-strength goals in 56 NHL games this season. Only the New Jersey Devils (92) have tallied fewer. The Los Angeles King a major step to address that problem by acquiring Artemi Panarin in a major deal. But Kevin Fiala’s major injury at the Olympics have left the Kings back in the trade market looking for more help. Fiala (18 goals, 22 assists) was an important player in LA’s offense. Now, they are trying to replace him, although there may not be willing to give up the assets necessary to get a true replacement. It may be a patch player like Jeff Skinner (waived by San Jose) or Patrik Laine (Montreal). They also may be looking at Michael Bunting (Nashville).
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