Despite their interest, the Maple Leafs should avoid trading for Rasmus Ristolainen

It’s no secret Brad Treliving is trying to upgrade the Toronto Maple Leafs blue line. The Leafs GM has been quite candid about his trade interest during his recent media rounds but made one thing clear he’s not going to overpay or just make a trade, to make a trade.

One trade he should avoid, acquiring Philadelphia Flyers right-handed defenseman, Rasmus Ristolainen.

According to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet, the Maple Leafs have looked into Ristolainen as a trade target and Elliotte had this to say in a recent 32 Thoughts:

I do think Toronto has taken a look at Philadelphia’s Rasmus Ristolainen, who has three seasons remaining on a five-year, $25.5-million contract. But, I don’t believe the Flyers are eager to give him away, and there’s no rush for them to do anything while their group is playing well. That’s not to say it couldn’t be something down the road, but when the team is competing hard, getting good results and generally doing what is being asked of them — why throw a stink bomb into your dressing room?

The Flyers have surprised many this season as they sit a 14-10-2 record, good for second in the Metropolitan division. GM Daniel Briere is looking to re-tool and get younger, but that’s not to say, as Friedman mentions, he’s looking to turn his dressing room upside down as the team is producing.

Ristolainen is too costly and way too risky

Either way you look at it, Ristolainen will be costly for the Maple Leafs to acquire and Treliving needs to turn his attention somewhere else. The 6-foot-4 defenseman is owed $5.1 million annually through the 2026-27 season. While he doesn’t hold any trade protection, some would argue his contract does the trick.

Ristolainen’s annual salary doesn’t match his output and if the Leafs want to get the Flyers to retain some salary throughout the next four seasons, that’s going to be very costly for Treliving to manage. Think at least one first-round pick, or perhaps even a top prospect. Two things the Maple Leafs should avoid trading at this time.

So far in six games this season, Ristolainen has recorded just one assist, 11 hits and seven blocked shots. He battled a mystery injury to start the season and has missed 20 of Philly’s games this season. Nothing screams risky trade target more than a d-man who has a mystery injury to start the season. Compound that with the fact he’s injury prone and hasn’t played a full season since 2015-16, yes eight years ago.

When he’s healthy, the Finnish blueliner produces at a reasonable clip, but the Maple Leafs shouldn’t be in the market for ‘when he’s healthy’ players. They need stability, have already dropped a ton of man games due to injury and Treliving should try to avoid adding a veteran with the wrong kind of track record.

Circling back to the numbers, while Ristolainen’s managed one assist so far this season, he recorded 20 points in 74 games last season and 16 points in 66 games the year before. He’s not an all offense type of defender and his sandpaper or the edge he plays with is likely why Treliving even considered a move in the first place. You can’t teach 6-foot-4, and a willingness to muck it up in the dirty areas of the ice. However, these kinds of underlying numbers should be quite concerning for the Leafs brass: