Pucks and Pitchforks
Fansided

New Jersey Devils: 5 Sabres Trades That Make More Sense Than Jack Eichel

By Nick Villano

NEWARK, NJ - MARCH 25: Jack Eichel #9 of the Buffalo Sabres in action against the New Jersey Devils at Prudential Center on March 25, 2019 in Newark, New Jersey. The Devils defeated the Sabres 3-1. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)
NEWARK, NJ - MARCH 25: Jack Eichel #9 of the Buffalo Sabres in action against the New Jersey Devils at Prudential Center on March 25, 2019 in Newark, New Jersey. The Devils defeated the Sabres 3-1. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
3 of 6
Next
New Jersey Devils
Rasmus Ristolainen – Buffalo Sabres (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images) /

Rasmus Ristolainen

Rasmus Ristolainen has been rumored to be looking for a trade for a long time (sensing a theme here?). He’s a 26-year-old defenseman that has taken a long time to develop. This is his eighth year in the NHL after he was taken eighth overall at the 2013 NHL Draft.

He already has 233 career points on the blue line, and he fits in with the Devils age timeline. Tom Fitzgerald has said he wants players who are 26 years old or less so they mesh with the emergence of Hischier and Hughes as superstars. Ristolainen took some time to truly hit his prime as a defenseman, but he should be here for the next few years.

The cost of Rasmus Ristolainen is hard to figure out. The Sabres spent a 1st-round pick on Brandon Montour, so that’s probably where they see this kind of defenseman valued. The Devils are obviously very fond of this year’s 1st-round pick that has a lot of defense available. However, getting a 26 year old that was once a top-10 pick in the draft costs something like that.

The difference is Ristolainen spoke publically about being ready to be traded last year. To NHL.com’s Heather Engel, he had this to say:

"“When you put so much hard work [in] every summer, you work hard in every practice, it makes it even more frustrating because we weren’t even close again.”"

That’s not going to help his value. He has one more year left at $5.4 million. He would make the Devils defense very expensive next season, and he could leave for nothing after that. Still, he’s an intriguing option.

Home/Editorials