Maple Leafs Rumors: Serious Interest In Flyers Defenseman

The Philadelphia Flyers are expected to drop further out of the playoff picture in the coming weeks leading up to the trade deadline. They have continued to play hard all season and make it tough for any opponent to deal with, but the team just doesn't have enough skill to hang around, on top of the plan to still go through a rebuild.

That being said, there are trade candidates on the team. One player in particular that has gotten continuous interest from one team is Rasmus Ristolainen. Jonathan Bailey of Philadelphia Hockey Now reports that the Toronto Maple Leafs still have serious interest in the Flyers' defenseman.

With the addition of Jamie Drysdale in Philadelphia, this adds another right-shot defenseman to the mix and will make it easier for the Flyers to feel like they can move on from Ristolainen for the right price. He has been shifted down to the third pairing since Sean Walker is also having a strong season on the right side. Ristolainen is signed for three more years after this one at $5.1 million AAV, but if the Flyers are selling, they will have to eat some of that cap hit. This would make a trade more attractive for the Maple Leafs if so since they will be cap strapped next season.

The Maple Leafs only have Morgan Rielly, Jake McCabe, and Conor Timmins signed past this season, and two of them are for only one more year. It is smart for the team to be thinking about the future by bringing in a defenseman like this for the right side since none of the free agents are a lock to return and play a big role.