Nobody stated that Ristolainen is so bad. What has been stated is that Ristolainen has flaws in his game and is not the perfect player that you frequently make him out to be. Your perceived faith is irrelevant and it's highly unlikely that you've seen Ristolainen play as much as you've seen Sanheim. GM's make bad trades all the time so the fact that they traded for him and paid the price that they did, really doesn't matter at this point. All that really matters is how he plays moving forward. If you discount other fans opinions, do you also discount your own in favor of the GM? Does that count for this situation or all situations moving forward? If it does, this means you cannot be critical of the GM for any move made in the future because he knows more than you do as a fan. Here we see more poorly thought out comments. You keep making this false equivalent of Sanheim not being signed to mean that they don't think he is a good player or that they don't think what I think about the player. It does not say that about the player. All it says is that they haven't been able to come to an agreement yet.

Here is the list of RFA players that have yet to be re-signed

https://www.capfriendly.com/rfas
- MJL

I stated Sanheim is only 1 of two players across the entire league that are still scheduled for arbitration, I said nothing about RFAs across the league. Secondly, I never stated Risto was a perfect defenseman, not even close! In fact he was not even on my radar as a defenseman to get for that 2nd pairing. However, once the trade occurred I looked into it more, listened to what Fletcher said in regards to why he liked the player, and concluded it made sense for this team, which badly needed a physical presence on the backend. Finally, I clearly stated in my post that I will take a GMs opinion over mine as well, because they and their staff should know more about hockey at the NHL level than I ever will. That does not mean they are perfect and that bad trades are not made, because clearly they are. However, I am optimistic about this trade and hope it works out well for the Flyers. Finally, I never said the Flyers didn't think Sanheim was a good player, I have simply stated 1. they don't seem to have the same belief in him as with Carter Hart, and 2. don't feel Sanheim deserves a significant raise.

Another point…if you discount the offensive production that lacks in Sanheims game. What exactly is he ? He sure as hell is not a defensive d man. He’s not physical at all. He Skates like the wind and uses that to move the puck. He uses his reach more then he takes the body…I thought that was Myers biggest fall off last year….he started to use his reach and stick more then taking body.
Sanheim hasn’t played on the PP because offensively he’s not good enough to be productive. It’s just not his game. It’s not like the Flyers had a fantastic PP and Sanheim was only the 3rd or 4th best option….that’s not his game. So what’s he worth as the Flyers 4th best d man ?
- landros 2

Exactly right! He's not physical. He's not a defensive force. He clearly skates well and has demonstrated offensive ability, but even here he's not consistent. One game Sanheim will step into the play on a rush, take a pass and blast it by the goalie, and then you will not see him do it again for 10 games. This is my biggest beef with Sanheim. If his strength is to be an offensive force, why isn't he one?

I stated Sanheim is only 1 of two players across the entire league that are still scheduled for arbitration, I said nothing about RFAs across the league. Secondly, I never stated Risto was a perfect defenseman, not even close! In fact he was not even on my radar as a defenseman to get for that 2nd pairing. However, once the trade occurred I looked into it more, listened to what Fletcher said in regards to why he liked the player, and concluded it made sense for this team, which badly needed a physical presence on the backend. Finally, I clearly stated in my post that I will take a GMs opinion over mine as well, because they and their staff should know more about hockey at the NHL level than I ever will. That does not mean they are perfect and that bad trades are not made, because clearly they are. However, I am optimistic about this trade and hope it works out well for the Flyers. Finally, I never said the Flyers didn't think Sanheim was a good player, I have simply stated 1. they don't seem to have the same belief in him as with Carter Hart, and 2. don't feel Sanheim deserves a significant raise.
- jd250

This is another example of how you're not even aware of what you post on top of your false claim that you didn't label Larsson as a 3rd pair defenseman who wasn't very good.

Here is what you said in a previous post.

"Fletcher and his staff do not see the same things you apparently see in Sanheim, otherwise he would have been locked up by, and cap room created as needed via trade. "

You've repeatedly tried to use the fact that he has not been re-signed yet to try and support poorly thought out comments on how good Sanheim is or in an attempt to try and support what you think Fletcher sees in the player. The list of quality RFA players that have not been re-signed yet, clearly refutes those statements that you've made.
You've made repeated statements in comparison with Sanheim listing all the qualities that you think makes Ristolainen a good defenseman and better than Sanheim. You've ignored the negatives concerning Risolainen and his past play.

Exactly right! He's not physical. He's not a defensive force. He clearly skates well and has demonstrated offensive ability, but even here he's not consistent. One game Sanheim will step into the play on a rush, take a pass and blast it by the goalie, and then you will not see him do it again for 10 games. This is my biggest beef with Sanheim. If his strength is to be an offensive force, why isn't he one?
- jd250

Anyone categorizing Sanheim as an offensive force or even an offensive defenseman is incorrect. Sanheim is a two way puck moving top 4 defenseman who is capable of producing at a high level offensively at ES. He is normally solid defensively and is capable of playing on the PK.

2020-21 - ESP = 15 - GP = 55
2019-2020 - ESP = 21 - GP = 69
2018-2019 - ESP =30 - GP 82
2017-2018 - ESP 10 - GP 49

255 GP and 76 ES points.

Is that strong ES production? He is trending down after his 30 ESP 3 years ago.
- hello it's me 2050

I looked this up, and the top offensive defenseman, like Hamilton for example, routinely score about 30 EV points per season. 2nd tier offensive defenseman are around 22-25 EV points per season. Sanhiem's first full season he was excellent in this regard, but he hasn't followed it up. Granted last season Sanheim had the highest % of defensive zone starts in his young career and I am sure this has something to do with it, but the fact remains Sanheim has not been consistent enough offensively IMO to deserve another significant raise, and that is why he is going to arbitration at the club's request (which is a very rare thing in the NHL).

This is another example of how you're not even aware of what you post on top of your false claim that you didn't label Larsson as a 3rd pair defenseman who wasn't very good.

Here is what you said in a previous post.

"Fletcher and his staff do not see the same things you apparently see in Sanheim, otherwise he would have been locked up by, and cap room created as needed via trade. "

You've repeatedly tried to use the fact that he has not been re-signed yet to try and support poorly thought out comments on how good Sanheim is or in an attempt to try and support what you think Fletcher sees in the player. The list of quality RFA players that have not been re-signed yet, clearly refutes those statements that you've made.
You've made repeated statements in comparison with Sanheim listing all the qualities that you think makes Ristolainen a good defenseman and better than Sanheim. You've ignored the negatives concerning Risolainen and his past play.
- MJL

I have not ignored anything, nor do I see how the quote you put here incriminates my in any way! Risto is a better Dman IMO than Sanheim. He is better offensively, he is better defensively. That is my opinion of the two of them. If you have a different opinion, that's fine, and we will see how they both perform this coming year won't we, under what we hope are normal conditions. If Sanheim has a breakout year I will be the first to post it. However when Risto has a great year, where will you be I ponder??

I looked this up, and the top offensive defenseman, like Hamilton for example, routinely score about 30 EV points per season. 2nd tier offensive defenseman are around 22-25 EV points per season. Sanhiem's first full season he was excellent in this regard, but he hasn't followed it up. Granted last season Sanheim had the highest % of defensive zone starts in his young career and I am sure this has something to do with it, but the fact remains Sanheim has not been consistent enough offensively IMO to deserve another significant raise, and that is why he is going to arbitration at the club's request (which is a very rare thing in the NHL).
- jd250

You are incorrect and continue to corollate the arbitration with unsubstantiated facts. Again, the GM is on record stating that the player is in line for a raise. You don't know that is why he going to arbitration at the teams request. Again the only fact that can be taken from the arbitration is that they have not been able to come to an agreement on a deal.

In the last 3 seasons combined, Sanheim ranks 44th on P/60 at 5 on 5 play. Ahead of defenseman such as Tory Krug, Dmitry Orlov, Samuel Girard( Who is 23 and who has a 5M cap hit) Ryan Suter, Jacob Slavin, Jacob Trouba, Miro Heiskanen, Seth Jones, Ekman Larson, Colton Parayko, and you guessed it, Rasmus Ristolainen

Ristolainen's P/60 over that 3 year period is .77
Sanheim's over the same period is 1. Sanheim's total is almost a 1/4 point higher.

I have not ignored anything, nor do I see how the quote you put here incriminates my in any way! Risto is a better Dman IMO than Sanheim. He is better offensively, he is better defensively. That is my opinion of the two of them. If you have a different opinion, that's fine, and we will see how they both perform this coming year won't we, under what we hope are normal conditions. If Sanheim has a breakout year I will be the first to post it. However when Risto has a great year, where will you be I ponder??
- jd250

You're mixing up the argument. The argument is not about whether Ristolainen is better than Sanheim. Sanheim has already had a breakout year.


Sanheim's numbers are superior to Ristolainen's overall.

MBFLyerfan has repeatedly posted Sanheim's numbers and you've ignored it completely.

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

Here is a quote from the article.

"If you’ve read my analysis, I think I have painted a pretty clear picture of the impact Ristolainen has on the Sabres and how he compares to other defensemen around a similar age, being paid a similar amount. I don’t think he compares well. For the age Ristolainen is and the cap hit he commands, the Sabres could better allocate their resources."

https://infernalaccess.su...-jersey-devils-should-not

Quotes
Ristolainen is probably the most infamous defender in the NHL among those in the public analytics community. This isn’t because he is the worst -- he’s been hovering around replacement-level for much of his career -- but because he is the most archetypal example of an overrated defencemen in the modern game."

"He is a big, physical presence who produces gaudy counting stats due to largely to his big minutes -- particularly on the powerplay -- but is an absolute black hole in terms of the actual impact on the scoreboard due largely to his egregiously harmful 5v5 game."

"The cinder blocks on Risto’s feet prevent him from being able to prevent opponents from capitalizing on opportunities created by the terrible decisions he’s prone to making in all three zones. He’s a liability in transition both offensively and defensively. The physicality of his game is an aesthetic distraction from subterannean hockey IQ. "



"Analytics schmanalytics. Watch the damn game. Rasmus Ristolainen is lost on the NHL ice. I don’t care if he’s 7’5’’ 300lbs and can bench press a wooly mammoth, he is a broken hockey player that costs his team goals in both directions.

Put all of this together and you get a very simple and unambiguous conclusion that any team would be insane to give up any assets at all for this lemon of an asset.

If you’re thinking at this point it seems like I have something personal against Risto, I can assure you I harbor no ill will towards him. I simply have a passionate opposition to my favorite team acquiring hockey players who are bad at hockey.

And Rasmus Ristolainen is very bad at hockey."


"

https://thehockeywriters....ytics-autopsy-defencemen/

"The one player that anyone with an ounce of respect for analytics will not be surprised about is Ristolainen. Of the Sabres’ regulars on the back-end, he was the weakest link. I understand that he’s rugged, skilled and plays with an edge, but the fact remains that the more time he spends on the ice, the more likely the team is to lose. If they could find any takers at this point, they should move him for forward help."

"Stop me if you’ve heard this before: Ristolainen needs to be traded. It really doesn’t matter how you slice it. Of the 40 available points on special teams, he accumulated a respectable 25. At even strength? Five. FIVE. He was neither effective offensively nor defensively. He merely existed. If there is another general manager who will offer you an even-strength contributor of any kind, you should take them up on their offer."

https://phillyhockeynow.c...bert-hagg-chuck-fletcher/



"Simply put, Ristolainen did not help the Sabres win many games in his career. In fact, he hurt them most of the time. Despite his physicality and how hard it may be to play against him, the Sabres were better off with him on the bench."