Why do you think Risto will be traded?

Thier is nothing indicating Risto will be traded and Montour is far from the saviour everyone thought he'd be. Sabres need more than one good rhd. Trading Risto just adds to them spinning their tires for years to come

He was being shopped actively at the deadline. Signs are pointing that he could be dealt

Every statistic in the book other than ice time says Risto gone is a good thing. Also Montour isn't meant to be the savior but he's better than every RHD on this roster

All being said I love Risto. Up until recently always have. Loved the big guy getting fiesty and pushing forward. However this season I took an unemotional approach at his game. He's bad. Turns the puck over and does nothing to help Buffalo attack out of their own zone. If we can get something for him we'd be dumb not too. If Risto was a third pairing getting paid two mil I'd have no problem. But he's playing top minutes earning 5 mil. And you can argue that is because he plays against the stars that he does bad but he struggles even against Ottawa and Detroit.

Did any one happen to notice how much ice time Bogosian had against the Leafs.




I do not remember any one saying Montour would be a savior, please give me one reporter who mentioned that. I have watched Montour and wondered why he was traded for so little.

The signs are there but probably only if Betterall was able to get a good return.
I would imagine if BriseBois were to offer Callahan, Miller/Gourde, a prospect and a first he would have been gone, but I doubt that was the offer. I speculated that Beaulieu may have been part of the deal. Ristolainen, Beaulieu for Callahan, Sergachev, and other parts from Tampa either picks or prospects. I wonder if any one took note of how many defensemen were traded moments before the dead line for sixth or seventh round picks, this was not the season to be trading defensemen. What I know of Betterall, he may have promised Beaulieu that he would be traded to a contender.

Not true, they say that about Okposo though

Mike Schopp

They say it about both of them

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.diebytheblade.com/platform/amp/2019/2/19/18230323/it-may-be-time-for-the-buffal-sabres-to-use-rasmus-ristolainen-as-a-trade-chip

Here's a good article highlighting some thoughts. This was at the deadline when he was still on the power play and his plus/minus didn't look like a vintage Tiger Woods scorecard

If thats true them the Sabres are not getting value back worth enough to trade Ristolainen. They arent going to trade him just to make a trade. If you and DBTB have all these stats that say hes so bad, then their is a 100% guarentee every NHL scout has those too. And if all these scouting departments have all tnese stats that say hes so bad and hes over rated over payed, no one GM in their right mind is giving up anything of value. If they do want him then they clearly see how the team around him affects his numbers (the team around him affects his numbers, its called context) and they will burn the Sabres on another trade and set this team back further. The Sabres can not win by trading Risto. They need to improve their bottom 6, and they need to PRAY Mittelstadt evolves his game next year and he and Nylander take giant steps. I think he and Nylander have looked good, Id like to see them together for the end of the season, to try and build chemistry.

Your same argument was used for Tyler Myers. Dahlin and Pilut play on the same team and produce more, hell even Patrick Begland was more beneficial to Buffalo then RR. Anyways, Myers was a "good player" on a bad team. One of the better trades GMTM produced, was sending Myers off for Kane. Kane produced immensely for Buffalo, and Myers has been statistically worse for WPG. Buffalo traded him, they can trade Risto too. There are GM's who value that stuff. Yes we might not get a top top prospect but we can probably lure someone away that fits as a better partner for either Dahlin or Pilut. Yes, I do believe that the players not named Skinner, Eichel, Reinhart, Dalhin need to be improved upon. But in order to improve our team we need to make trades or spend money if FA which usually tends to be unsuccessful (Okposo)

Kane was average at best for Buffalo and the Sabres have been trash since that trade. Not only that, that trade is commonly seen as a failure for GMTM

Oof. I certainly hope he stays cause otherwise our defensive core just went from pretty great to average again

That great core is responsible for the 9th worse GAA, 10th most shots allowed, 4th most scoring chance goals allowed. You can blame the goaltenders except they produced the 8th best scoring chance save percentage and the 12th best high danger scoring save percentage. Which is much more than you should expect out of a career back up and Ullmark in his first full season.



Kane would be 6th on the team in points now when he played for the McEichel tank team despite missing 17 games that season(His worse season with Buffalo). That trade also got rid of players who have failed to produce and a 1st rounder which we got back with O'Reagan (looks promising to be on the roster next year) and a first round draft pick this year. So yes the trade was a failure in the sense that Buffalo didn't make the playoffs but has panned out to atleast equal value. I hated GMTM too. And they were trash from that trade because that was the tank year.


BTW Risto has a -39 +/- I know +/- isn't the end all but the next closest is Thompson with -21. You can't sit there with a straight face and say that a -39 is something to ignore. On top of that when comparing scoring chances for vs scoring chances against he has the 6th worse of players on the team. Behind him are Casey, Okposo, Thompson, Scandella, Sabotka. High Danger Chances Against? Worst
High Danger Goals Against? Worst

He's a defender who can't defend. Montour is 5th best or better in all categories and is the 1st and only defender positive in every category. He's not a number one defenseman yet but he's better than Risto.