Flyers set High Price for Rasmus Ristolainen, Frontrunner Named

Philadelphia Flyers defenceman Rasmus Ristolainen

He's missed plenty of time this season, but Rasmus Ristolainen is back as a top-pairing Philadelphia Flyers defenseman, and he's proving to be a serious commodity at this trade deadline. The right-shot blueliner has been terrific in his time back in the lineup the past couple of months and is logging massive ice-time for Philly, culminating in a 27-minute workhorse effort in a win over Toronto Monday night.

The Flyers will be charging a high price, though, for any team looking to trade for the 31-year-old, according to Pierre LeBrun in The Athletic.

The price on Rasmus Ristolainen, according to league sources, is a first-round pick and a prospect, but the Philadelphia Flyers are willing to be flexible depending on the team and what they have that makes more sense for them.

The reasoning is simple. The Flyers don't have to trade him. He still has one year remaining on his contract at a $5.1 million cap hit. The hope is that his upper-body injuries that have limited him to just 23 games this season, are behind him.

At the moment, The Fourth Period reports that the Dallas Stars are the frontrunners to land Risto. They also name four other teams that are showing interest, as well:

Dallas Stars
Buffalo Sabres
Detroit Red Wings
Tampa Bay Lightning
Boston Bruins

All of those teams have been sniffing around the market for an addition to their bluelines, preferably right-shot, as we head quickly towards Friday's 3pm deadline. Ristolainen spent the first eight years of his career in Buffalo, so their interest in intriguing as well.

And while he's been excellent when he's on the ice, looking like the player he was when he first got to Philly five years ago, buyer beware, of course, as injuries have wreaked havoc on Ristolainen over the past few years. He's played the 23 games this year, 63 last season, and 31 games the year before that.