This is so embarrassing
- PhillySportsGuy

I see you've dropped in to drink in the tears.

From Pro Hockey Rumors. Just going to leave this here:

Ristolainen, 26, has just one year remaining on his contract and carries a $5.4MM cap hit. Though he brings the mix of six–Ristolainen stands 6’4″–and offensive upside that teams covet, he has also been routinely derided by more analytical measures. Even in some of the traditional stats like +/-, Ristolainen’s overall impact on the game has been poor, registering a whopping -163 over his 542-game NHL career. That entire career has been spent in Buffalo, where things haven’t gone well since he made his debut 2013, but at least part of that failure has to fall at the feet of Ristolainen, who has averaged nearly 24 minutes a night throughout his career.
- cdearth23

Thing about this is Buffalo used him as a top pair D for most his career. We should see what he is really capable of here. Still dont like the price though. Fletcher had better have at least worked out a contract extension prior to the deal

This is so embarrassing
- PhillySportsGuy

welcome to the club

Should I run some stats for you? Do you even pay any attention to how the league views Risto? I am disappointed to see you and Hextall271 essentially join the SHOOT crowd, replacing SHOOT with HIIIIT. Y

ou want to win or you want to hit somebody? Should we bring back Jim Vandermeer?
- PT21

I am not in the shoot hit crowd but I’m certainly not freaking out before we see how this shakes down. It’s a lot to pay but did you not notice how crazy weak our d Corp as last year? We never even had any pushback. Smart physicality is still part of the game. We all knew changes needed to come. Now on a better team with him slotted correctly not playing 24 a night maybe he’ll be strong. I’m willing to see how this plays out and am happy we haven’t gutted the youth completely.

Do you see us getting an immediate impact player in this draft at 13 or is this year more of a crap shoot?

Risto will show flashes of okay what a great game do that again, followed by 10-15 miserable ones.

get ready for Risto to get the puck and bang it off the glass to get it out of the zone.

his physicality you will like and his ability to piss people off.

Again, just dont play him top minutes.
- ImThatGuy

I never understood the argument of "player bangs puck off glass to get it out of the D zone"...I would rather have that than have someone coughing up the puck down the middle. Granted it depends on the situation.

I know how he looked in Buffalo, now I want to see if that same player shows up in Philly. We don't need him crushing minutes, we have a pair that will no question be playing 28+ mins all-situations now.

I was waiting to share this until the right time, this should make most of us feel a little better.

https://thehockeywriters....ku06G8tuJ7YL36UEZOWqITYaU

Thing about this is Buffalo used him as a top pair D for most his career. We should see what he is really capable of here. Still dont like the price though. Fletcher had better have at least worked out a contract extension prior to the deal
- xShoot4WarAmpsx

Think an extension is about the only thing that could make this trade even worse lol

I see you've dropped in to drink in the tears.
- Tomahawk

I’m pretty sure this is just a long bit where they try to remain mediocre for as long as possible

I will reserve judgment until we see how he plays. Many people ripped Fletcher when he traded for Nisky and people called him done. He proved the total opposite. Perhaps Risto will slot better in a secondary role vs being the #1 for the worst franchise in the NHL

https://twitter.com/based...tatus/1418635827211608070

No I’ve watched him a bit more then that….I think he fills a need. He moves the puck pretty good for big guy. Is it an over pay? Maybe…but not by a lot.
I was not a big Hagg fan….I see more then enough second rounders never get a sniff…as far as the 1rst rounder, that’s about what I would expect…kinda opens up my plans for tonight…but oh well.
- landros 2

i think adding the first with only one year left until he's a UFA is a huge overpay.

welcome to the club
- Nucker101

Every NHL GM needs a stat guy with veto power

Some choice quotes:

https://afpanalytics.com/...lainen-what-is-his-value/


When looking at the 2016-2017 season, we see that the Sabres got absolutely caved in when Ristolainen was on the ice.

We now see three straight years where Ristolainen’s team gave up significantly more shots when he was on the ice versus when he was off.

Last season (2018-19), Ristolainen performed the worst among the comparison group. Because of the unpredicatability of goaltending his poor performance here could be the result of the Sabres’ goaltending tandem of Carter Hutton and Linus Ullmark playing dreadful hockey after the Sabres’ improbable hot start. However, Ristolainen was paired with his most competent partners during the 2018-2019 season but put up his worst results.
- PT21

Part of the problem with some analytics is how the player is used by his coaches and what positions he is put in….Risto is a pretty polarizing player….he’ll fit in awesome here on the Bill’s Blog’s discussion board.

I’m pretty sure this is just a long bit where they try to remain mediocre for as long as possible
- PhillySportsGuy

Btw, where you hiding out these days? And did you take Mononoke and AllInForFlyers with you?

People in here complaining about his 1 year contract like are you guys wanting to compound this problem!?

Everyone said Flyers contracts were unmovable without retaining significant salary. Buffalo just got rid of a player they've been wanting to rid themselves of for a long time, and got a roster player a first and second round pick to boot. While retaining no salary. If it wasn't that clown bum Fletcher I would think this is a made up trade.

Thing about this is Buffalo used him as a top pair D for most his career. We should see what he is really capable of here. Still dont like the price though. Fletcher had better have at least worked out a contract extension prior to the deal
- xShoot4WarAmpsx

Great. I hope you guys have one of the best #4 defensemen in the league for the next 5 years. Thanks for the first.

If its a win-win....great....it wasn't working for him here.

Good luck

So just so I know....we are upset we gave up draft picks. Not players. But picks. Our worry today is about picks...not about making the team better?

those pesky rules getting in the way
- Scoob

They really do stink don’t they!

i think adding the first with only one year left until he's a UFA is a huge overpay.
- Ftown19125

Maybe they re up him right away? I mean they weren’t willing to take the chance on Seth Jones, maybe there is more to come.

https://twitter.com/based_shesty/status/1418635827211608070
- eichiefs9

You can snapshot just about any player in the league and say this is the player.

i think adding the first with only one year left until he's a UFA is a huge overpay.
- Ftown19125

Most Sabres fans were hoping for a 2nd rd pick and maybe a lesser prospect.

So we are all over the moon.

I am not in the shoot hit crowd but I’m certainly not freaking out before we see how this shakes down. It’s a lot to pay but did you not notice how crazy weak our d Corp as last year? We never even had any pushback. Smart physicality is still part of the game. We all knew changes needed to come. Now on a better team with him slotted correctly not playing 24 a night maybe he’ll be strong. I’m willing to see how this plays out and am happy we haven’t gutted the youth completely.

Do you see us getting an immediate impact player in this draft at 13 or is this year more of a crap shoot?
- Hextall271

Come on man! We are not in a POSITION to say, ah (frank) it we can go for upgrades without any eye to what cost to future is. Teams knocking at the door do that kind of calculation.

You gave up a 1st for a guy who on many teams would play bottom pairing D. And you did it for a team that finished way out of playoff position this year.

Think about this for a minute.

Every NHL GM needs a stat guy with veto power
- PhillySportsGuy

Probably still a few years away from that being a thing for most teams

At least none of the picks are in the same draft?

Also Risto is not signing for more than $5mil on a deal over 3 years.

Ellis is better than Myers.

Risto is better than Ghost or Hagg.

Were the upgrades worth NoPa, 13th overall, 2nd in 2022 and a 2nd in 2023? I guess we will see.