risto is really bad. i mean zaitsev is better. thats how bad he is.

Not even close to being enough. Bear has little no value, Russel is salary dump and second. Really he has scored over 40 points in 4 straight years.
Switch Russel for Larsson and then maybe.

Zaitsev doesn't play 24+ minutes a night in one of the worst teams, Zaitsev doesn't score 40+ points every season. I do not deny that Risto is really bad in defense, Risto just not 1D, perhaps in a different system and with less time on the ice it will blossom.

No thx

Risto is a Right hand shot. Edmonton is full in that Dept.

Larsson in off the table - the point here is to ADD to the right side. What prospect / pick combo would you consider?

Prospects, yes - NHLers, no.

Ferland is getting at least 2 million more

I don't think our GM would trade Risto for futures, it would just be silly, we need a legitimate 2C and RHD that can play well in defense.

Valid points. My thoughts are that Ristolainen's value will begin to decrease soon, maybe as soon as this year. He scores most of his points on the PP, but he'll be getting less PP time every year to Dahlin going forward. As it is, Dahlin played the same number of minutes on the PP as Ristolainen this year, with slightly better results. At 5v5 Ristolainen has always struggled, not only at defense but at offense as well. Here are his last 3 years 5v5 points/60 and Russell's too for comparison (since people think he sucks the hind banana).

Ristolainen
16-17: 0.64
17-18: 0.62
18-19: 0.89

Russell
16-17: 0.59
17-18: 0.80
18-19: 0.66

I'm not trying to pump Russell's tires here - I stated in the Team Explanation that I included him for cap purposes - just illustrating that Ristolainen's value is largely due to PP time that will be getting reduced going forward. It'll happen in Edmonton too once Bouchard comes up, but that won't happen in October (if I have my way).

Not from me he ain't!

his max point total is 39 and zaitsev's is 36. both are a decent amount of points for a defenseman. im pretty sure both players got most of their points on the pp. when z got the 36 points he was very sheltered and still a minus 22 which isnt good. plus minus is a dumb stat but sill -22 and -41 isnt good. risto may have been playing tougher competition but zaitsev also primarily plays against 1st or 2nd lines and starts over 66 percent of his shifts in the dz compared to risto who only starts 51 percent in the dz. niether of them have a good corsi at around 46% in their careers.

i imagine goaltending has a big part to do with it as well, freddy has been great but buffalo's hasnt. zaitsev looks to have the harder matchup but im not sure who risto plays with, zaitsev mostly played with gardiner and they dont play well together. if risto plays with dahlin that will make his stats better but i dont know his partner. the truth is neither are very good

I agree with you, but I don't see Risto in a deal with Edmonton. RHN and Larsson your do not give, futures for Risto we do not need.

Which is why I included Russell.

GF/60 - GA/60 - GF%

Risto 2.15 - 3.12, 40.80%
Rusty 2.35 - 2.30, 50.51%

It is even difficult to make comparisons here. The coach, the goaltender, the offensive players, all of which affect the game Risto and other players. The first 25-30 games of the season Risto played like Pesce or Manson, but then the whole team fell into the abyss.

Why then your fans constantly trade Russell on 5-6 round of? This raises questions.

Good question, he seems to be the fans whipping boy. Everything is Russell's fault even if it isn't.

I think this trade makes sense because Larsson can take on more defensive duties so Risto doesn't have to - right now the Oilers need a puck-mover in the top-4 right side, Risto can be that guy. Bear will be a good puck moving d-man but probably needs another year in the minors - I'd rather not wait. He was 52, 6-25-3 +14 in the AHL this year, and would immediately be Rochester's top RHD. His NHL arrival coincides with Bogosian's departure.

So maybe Risto became a whipping boy, too?) I'm just interested to see how Risto will play with a normal coach, I don't know how, but Risto was very good the first 30 games this season, even in defense almost no mistakes, and then the whole team rolled into the abyss. My vision is either we leave Risto and watch him play with the new coach, or we trade him on 2C.

Sabres pass

He didnt really collapse till around the trade deadline, to which Paul Hamilton was wondering if their was some internal drama (Botterill was shopping him) that permeated to his play and his locker clean out interview. The entore team was bad defensively this year. It was mostly Housleys fault, this is a known fact. Sabres get the most value keeping Risto

It was well before that, @Cheesesauce was correct. At Christmas his boxcars looked like this:

37, 4-20-24, -7

Between Christmas and TDL:

25, 1-13-14, -18

Ouch! Then from TDL to end:

17, 0-6-6, -19

Yikes! Four of those points were on the PP too, so just 2 ES points and minus-19 in the last 17 games.

Risto is forced to start in Defensive zone and is also getting paired against top lines every night. If he protected better he will be a great addition to any team.

It would have to include the 8th overall. But sabres dont need picks in same position as oilers and to win now.

Which is why I'm trading for him. Edmonton has that cover, Buffalo doesn't. Russell could take on most of the d-zone starts to allow Montour more offensive opportunities, plus Bear and a 2nd for the kitty makes it a win for both organizations. Maybe Bear + 2nd isn't enough, if you have other ideas let me know.

That just proves what im saying. I didnt say after the TDL