Quoting: mhockey91
I just think Risto has been such a waste / poor asset management for the sabres. You are right, Other GMs do value him, yet for whatever reason so does sabres management. They turned down a trade involving hall for risto!!! Could you imagine what the sabres would’ve looked like headed into the 2016/17 season with a top 6 of Eichal, Hall, ROR, and Reinhart? I’m betting they wouldn’t have been a bottom feeding team that year and while they may not have landed Dahlin, they would’ve been inching closer to the goal of finally making the playoffs. Whether it was botteril or previous management, risto should’ve been traded ages ago because his “perceived value” is better than his on ice results. And it’s not even just his analytics. Watching him playing 24 minutes a game is painful. Maybe you’re right, in a different environment playing less minutes he may be an effective blue liner. But the way he’s used in buffalo is awful.
Yeah,
that trade we turned down for Hall is horrible looking back
But i agree we wouldn’t have gotten Dahlin
And at the time, we really had no other good defensemen besides Risto, which is why we had to turn down the deal
Definitely hurts though
And for me, it’s not JUST how we use Risto, it’s that he suffers from playing so many minutes on a bad team
For example:
If we were to swap Risto & Pietrangelo, Risto’s numbers would go up & Pietrangelo’s would go down
I’m not saying they’re the same player... just that analytics numbers for defensemen especially will fluctuate depending on the team around you
Look at Doughty
Is he suddenly a bad defenseman?
Or is it that the Kings suck now?
Risto is no superstar by any means
But i do think he’s a “good” player who would benefit highly from being on a better team, and suffers from being on a bad one