Bag of flamin' hot cheetos.

Realistically what.. maybe Zaitsev, forward prospect and 2nd? Likely not even that. He is not good.

Not as much as you're looking for.

Middle six forward and a 2nd maybe

Something BUF wouldn't find suitable at the end of the day.

My guess is Buffalo adds to him in a package and tries for a big fish.

Zaitsev is worth like a 2nd at most, and requested a trade so could be cheaper

Exactly

While you are all correct, I think if he is traded it will be for more than everyone believes. I think we have not seen the best of him so Betterall will not trade him unless it is a great offer, for these two reasons, I do not think he will be trades. His value is low and he will get much better.
I am not saying he will be as good as Chara but Zdeno did not reach 40 pts until he was 27 and was -27 for 2 years when he was 23 and 24. Big players take longer to develop. Ristolainen plays against the other teams best players. No Sabre had more hits nor blocked shots than he. IMO, Betterall is a patient GM. I read once Ristolainen is traded Buffalo will be looking for a "Ristolainen" to replace him.

i agree with what your saying completly he shouldnt and i dont think will trade him unless he sees a unbeliveable offer for him

There are indeed some unique aspects to Risto's game. He's a minutes eater and he really does take care of the puck better than people give him credit for. Averages something like 45 giveaways a year! That's crazy good. Guys like Seth Jones and Hedman are in the 60s and even Doughty between 80-90. The contract is also decent. Definitely not an overpay. The difficult part is he really is a turnstile. I truly don't like +/- as a stat, but Worst +/- in the league? SOMETIMES extreme examples can still tell a story. You'd need to pair him with a defensive stopper. Has he played any LD at all? I watch BUF some, but I would defer to you on his ability to play LD. If he could...MTL could be a nice fit next to Weber. Another aspect that makes him a hard trade is that his offensive abilities are leaning toward the over-rated side too. ~50% of his career points come from the power play. The math works out to be something like...expect (1) 5v5 assist every 5.5 games. Translate that to a playoff series...I'd want to see more if we're going to start saying he's gifted offensively. If we saying he's just a PP specialist...then I want to pay less than $5.4M. Lots of young dmen coming into this league on ELCs that can play the offensive defenseman role.

The reality is that he's probably somewhere in the middle of all this talk. Good thoughts! Great discussion!

TBH that is one of the best assessments from any one about Ristolainen I have seen on this site. Most Sabre fans over rate him (I tend to over rate his potential), most non-Sabre fans think he is near worthless. As you said, the reality is in the middle.
Today I reflected on the Tampa rumors and I think BriseBois wanted his size and physical play. We know Tampa was swept, who knows what would have happened if Betterall and BriseBois had been able to pull the trigger.
Betterall does not need to trade him, Montour and a healthy Bogosian actually makes the Sabre RHD above average. I will revert to my thoughts, Betterall does not need to trade him, he is physical, good PP, eats minutes, plays against other teams better players, therefore a remarkable offer would be needed to take him away from Buffalo. That is not what Ristolainen haters think but when a player is useful under a decent contract, there is not need to trade him.