ANA passes, I was looking at some charts and such this morning and they confirmed my opinion that Kase is one of the 5-10 most underrated players in the league

Your analysis is spot on. The question is how one could structure a trade that would work for both teams. As an Anaheim fan, I'm perfectly okay with the pain of paying the price necessary to make the Ducks a contender, but the issue is whether Ristolainen is that player. Obviously, I would trade Kase for Seth Jones -- but that would be a ludicrous trade for the Blue Jackets. I might trade Kase for Ryan Pulock and Anthony Beauvillier -- but I don't see that offer coming, either. Kase for Risto scares me because I've heard so much about Ristolainen's defensive deficiencies. I'm not sure that these teams are good trading partners again -- although there's something in the back of my mind about Eaves for Bogosian that would relieve some of Buffalo's cap stress . . .

Finally someone who can intelligently respond to an ANA trade with Buffalo... that being said, I think a pairing of Lindholm and Risto would work because Lindholm is fantastic defensively and honestly a top 10 defensman in the league (talk about underrated...). Risto has never been paired with a player even close to his caliber and I personally think he would thrive if they develop some chemistry. I think Kase's concussion and injury history can be baked into his value, even if Risto's analystics aren't great. Adding in a top 5 prospect in Buffalo's system I think makes it more than fair

Neither Ehlers or Kase are getting moved

Based on what...? If we can't get a return of at least them even with throwing in a prospect like Asplund or Thompson, it would be stupid to trade Risto

Theyre are plenty of decent players we could get without adding prospects, GMTM. Winnipeg has no reason to move Ehlers but someone like Roslavic who said he wants out (before his PR team walked it back) would be more than a decent return. Anaheim isnt trading young core players while rebuilding, thats nonsensical.