Big Nasty!!!!!!! I wanted him before we decided not to play hockey anymore

if Detroit robbed the Carolina Bank for Ned, Buffalo just robbed the entire US treasury

Complete overpay for a 2nd pair guy

This might legitimately be the worst trade the league has seen in 2 decades.

Flyers gave up a 1st, 2 2nd’s, and Hagg to downgrade from Ghost to Risto.
- sensarmy_11

He will improve on a better team. He will go from a -43 to a -20.

Yikes I feel
Bad for you guys. That was a complete fleece by a rookie GM.

Worst draft in 20/25 years, MANY GMS are so willing to give up their 1st round picks for this draft but not budging on the 2022 1st round picks.

There's a reason why they're so willing to give away 1st round picks in this draft...it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure it out.

If Buffalo fans get excited for that...then perhaps the teams fate should be what it has been, and the fans I dont feel sorry for so much anymore.


Granted there isn’t a “generational talent up too,” but there are still 1st round picks in this draft if moved to 22 that’d still be 1st round picks. So by saying the top is weak as just you trying to save yourself from a complete meltdown.

Like the 14th pick but too low to get Eklund or Wallsteadt though. See what happens. Still early lol!

Worst draft in 20/25 years, MANY GMS are so willing to give up their 1st round picks for this draft but not budging on the 2022 1st round picks.

There's a reason why they're so willing to give away 1st round picks in this draft...it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure it out.

If Buffalo fans get excited for that...then perhaps the teams fate should be what it has been, and the fans I dont feel sorry for so much anymore.
- tkbuffalo

Can you make a list of teams that has traded their #1 pick in this draft? Then compare that to any other year.

It's difficult for me to grasp how the same person who makes the Ellis trade makes this Risto trade. It's like jekyll and Hyde.
- jfkst1

Same guy did the giant albatross Parise 🗼Sucker deal. We all knew this was coming.

Have you watched Risto? He has physical skills, but is a mental midget on the ice. He's expensive for what he offers. The only good thing for Philly is he is only under contract for one more year.
- jfkst1

That 1 year thing is key. Its why I don’t mind it. They’re trying to shed salary.

Fact is, Flyers defense just went from
Provy/Myers
Sanheim/Braun

To

Provy/Ellis
Sanheim/Risto

It’s a pretty decent upgrade. Hagg had pretty much lost his job.

With York coming up, this looks like an improved unit.

Are there actually Sabres fans that don’t like this deal? I thought at best maybe a conditional first if the team trading for risto makes it so far in the playoffs. But 14 oa hagg and a second, weak draft or not that’s a great return for the Sabres.

Have you watched Risto? He has physical skills, but is a mental midget on the ice. He's expensive for what he offers. The only good thing for Philly is he is only under contract for one more year.
- jfkst1

Ive watched players like Tage Thompson , a big guy who cant even skate and stay on his feet.

Ive seen victor O ; a one trick pony with no physical strength who cant win board battles, along with Casey . . . The only forward who can win any type of physical board one on one battles is Cozens, and for the temporary time Reinhart. The rest...too soft.

Please never question what I've seen or watched when you dont know what ive seen or watched. Ive been doing this for a very very long time. As you can clearly see by just how long I've even had an account on this site!

This is an over hype, again, my point is... out of the top 8 players in this draft, there isn't much there that will amount to much as far as I'm concerned, so sure, at 14 you'll get a nice 4th line player, maybe 3rd at best if you go forward, otherwise you just dumped a tough physical player from a team who are completely weak along the boards and have zero puck battle skills.

That being said, if you simply are happy because you dislike the player, then fine. be happy, but what you get in return isn't anything and won't be anything impressive.

I do not like how Buffalo people are falling for the fact that 1st round picks in the worst draft in decades will amount to anything significant. 2022 is the deep draft, I dont see them getting any philly pick from 2022, they gave that one to Arizona (2nd round).

Its a good move for Philadelphia, there is this lack of sense that a player with a new set and scenery around him can flourish. How funny Sabre fans forget R.o.R, Evander Kane (minus his severe gambling issues in Vegas). . . at least even he was a top performer on a bad SJ team.

Philly (from there perspective) understood that this draft in 2021 at that position in the first round will yield little to nothing, therefore took a chance on someone they will hope that will be a beast on the backend for them.

So its a crap shoot, as we truly never know. . . but the consensus is, and the people I've talked with.. the 2021 1st round picks are of LOW VALUE, therefore other GMs are more than willing to trade them.

This is a good, solid trade.

It could work out to be great, we'll have to see, but I like the direction Fletch is taking the Flyers.

Now just need to jettison some of our overpriced O-guys.

Ive watched players like Tage Thompson , a big guy who cant even skate and stay on his feet.

Ive seen victor O ; a one trick pony with no physical strength who cant win board battles, along with Casey . . . The only forward who can win any type of physical board one on one battles is Cozens, and for the temporary time Reinhart. The rest...too soft.

Please never question what I've seen or watched when you dont know what ive seen or watched. Ive been doing this for a very very long time. As you can clearly see by just how long I've even had an account on this site!

This is an over hype, again, my point is... out of the top 8 players in this draft, there isn't much there that will amount to much as far as I'm concerned, so sure, at 14 you'll get a nice 4th line player, maybe 3rd at best if you go forward, otherwise you just dumped a tough physical player from a team who are completely weak along the boards and have zero puck battle skills.

That being said, if you simply are happy because you dislike the player, then fine. be happy, but what you get in return isn't anything and won't be anything impressive.

I do not like how Buffalo people are falling for the fact that 1st round picks in the worst draft in decades will amount to anything significant. 2022 is the deep draft, I dont see them getting any philly pick from 2022, they gave that one to Arizona (2nd round).

Its a good move for Philadelphia, there is this lack of sense that a player with a new set and scenery around him can flourish. How funny Sabre fans forget R.o.R, Evander Kane (minus his severe gambling issues in Vegas). . . at least even he was a top performer on a bad SJ team.

Philly (from there perspective) understood that this draft in 2021 at that position in the first round will yield little to nothing, therefore took a chance on someone they will hope that will be a beast on the backend for them.

So its a crap shoot, as we truly never know. . . but the consensus is, and the people I've talked with.. the 2021 1st round picks are of LOW VALUE, therefore other GMs are more than willing to trade them.
- tkbuffalo

"and the people I've talked with.."

Whatever dude. Maybe there are more unknowns due to the lack of scouting perhaps, but no one (except ' the people you've talked with' of course) is saying it's the worst draft in decades. I actually liked Risto, but I'm good with this trade.
Such a downer.

Ive watched players like Tage Thompson , a big guy who cant even skate and stay on his feet.

Ive seen victor O ; a one trick pony with no physical strength who cant win board battles, along with Casey . . . The only forward who can win any type of physical board one on one battles is Cozens, and for the temporary time Reinhart. The rest...too soft.

Please never question what I've seen or watched when you dont know what ive seen or watched. Ive been doing this for a very very long time. As you can clearly see by just how long I've even had an account on this site!

This is an over hype, again, my point is... out of the top 8 players in this draft, there isn't much there that will amount to much as far as I'm concerned, so sure, at 14 you'll get a nice 4th line player, maybe 3rd at best if you go forward, otherwise you just dumped a tough physical player from a team who are completely weak along the boards and have zero puck battle skills.

That being said, if you simply are happy because you dislike the player, then fine. be happy, but what you get in return isn't anything and won't be anything impressive.

I do not like how Buffalo people are falling for the fact that 1st round picks in the worst draft in decades will amount to anything significant. 2022 is the deep draft, I dont see them getting any philly pick from 2022, they gave that one to Arizona (2nd round).

Its a good move for Philadelphia, there is this lack of sense that a player with a new set and scenery around him can flourish. How funny Sabre fans forget R.o.R, Evander Kane (minus his severe gambling issues in Vegas). . . at least even he was a top performer on a bad SJ team.

Philly (from there perspective) understood that this draft in 2021 at that position in the first round will yield little to nothing, therefore took a chance on someone they will hope that will be a beast on the backend for them.

So its a crap shoot, as we truly never know. . . but the consensus is, and the people I've talked with.. the 2021 1st round picks are of LOW VALUE, therefore other GMs are more than willing to trade them.
- tkbuffalo

I know Risto isn't worth his entire cap hit this year and Philly is a capped out team so even if the picks amount to nothing, unloading him without any retention is a good move by Adams. Risto is mentally weak and has proven that for years. Hoping that he'll magically find a brain is a very likely losing proposition. I've seen this argument for years and it routinely fails.

"and the people I've talked with.."

Whatever dude. Maybe there are more unknowns due to the lack of scouting perhaps, but no one (except ' the people you've talked with' of course) is saying it's the worst draft in decades. I actually liked Risto, but I'm good with this trade.
Such a downer.
- Fogolin

This draft, like any other will have surprise players that perform way higher than their draft position. Scouting is not infallible.
Risto was not resigning with the Sabres, so even as a fan of his, this is all about asset management. KA got max back for him, and saved a lot of money doing it. Hagg could be flipped or sent to the AHL and ultimately cost us very little. Maybe this leaves us space to go after Dunn from Seattle.

Ive watched players like Tage Thompson , a big guy who cant even skate and stay on his feet.

Philly (from there perspective) understood that this draft in 2021 at that position in the first round will yield little to nothing, therefore took a chance on someone they will hope that will be a beast on the backend for them.

So its a crap shoot, as we truly never know. . . but the consensus is, and the people I've talked with.. the 2021 1st round picks are of LOW VALUE, therefore other GMs are more than willing to trade them.
- tkbuffalo

Sounds like you're talking yourself into supporting a bad trade. Just because there is no McDavid or MacKinnon at the top, that doesn't make this a weak draft. You claim people have told you this is a weak draft, but others don't feel that way. Most GMs seem extremely hesitant to trade a 1st in this draft. The feeling is if you have skilled scouts you can find talent that drops. To claim that at #13 you are looking at a 4th line player, or 3rd line if you are lucky is simply preposterous. 2015 was a strong draft and you had guys like Barzal, Connor, Chabot, Eriksson Ek in that range. Any 3rd and 4th liners there. 2016 was a weak draft. But at #13 you have guys like McAvoy and Chychrun on the board. Again, show me all the GMs that are trading 2021 1sts because this draft is weak?

The Athletic trade grades are in!

I LOVE Risto and hate to see him go. He will excel in a better situation. That being said, holy crap on the return!!!!!!

The Athletic trade grades are in!






- eichiefs9

Pretty accurate IMO.

Pretty accurate IMO.
- MetivJeff

as a Pens Fan I can't love this trade enough Risto is a Jack MF Johnson clone

I LOVE Risto and hate to see him go. He will excel in a better situation. That being said, holy crap on the return!!!!!!
- chugger38

He SUCKS

Big Nasty!!!!!!! I wanted him before we decided not to play hockey anymore
- jjackels55

Oh he nasty alright. He’ll fit right in on your blue line

This is a good, solid trade.

It could work out to be great, we'll have to see, but I like the direction Fletch is taking the Flyers.

Now just need to jettison some of our overpriced O-guys.
- Nh_kong

I’m a big fan of the direction Fletch is taking the Flyers also;