Insider Nick Kypreos claims that the Edmonton Oilers are garnering attention as a possible destination for Rasmus Ristolainen.
That information was released on Wednesday morning, and it should be taken seriously.
The Oilers do have a genuine issue on the back end that a 31-year-old Finnish shutdown defender may address, and Kypreos has a history with this kind of thing.
Ristolainen scored 14 points in 44 regular-season games this year with Philadelphia, and then contributed 5 points in 10 playoff games while ending +1 in the postseason.
That’s not a flashy number. But context counts. He had a particular function for the Flyers, which he performed well.
With 93 points and second place in the Pacific Division this season, the Oilers had a record of 41-30-11.
The contract Darnell Nurse signed makes the Ristolainen fit much more exciting.
Darnell Nurse is the elephant in this room. He played in all 82 games, had a $9.25 million cap hit, ended with 24 points, and a -12 rating for a team that was rated 14th overall in the league.
Right now, that contract is mostly worthless. This means that Stan Bowman must cope with it.
This season, Philadelphia paid Ristolainen $5.1 million in cap costs. He isn’t a top-pairing player. Never was. However, he adds the physical edge, shot-blocking tendencies, and size that Edmonton’s lower pairings have been missing.
Consider it similar to strengthening a fence that continues to fall rather than changing the entire yard.
The danger is that Bowman will put Ristolainen on top of an already congested blue line without fixing anything structurally. Mattias Ekholm is 36 years old. Walman finished with a -17 in only 53 regular-season games.
The Oilers require answers at the back. It is really debatable whether Ristolainen is the appropriate choice.
However, Kypreos’ public announcement of Edmonton indicates that a discussion is taking place somewhere.
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