Flyers extend D Ristolainen on five-year, $25.5M deal

Rasmus Ristolainen is coming off the TSN Hockey Trade Bait list.

The Philadelphia Flyers signed the 27-year-old defenceman to a five-year, $25.5 million on Thursday, according to TSN Hockey Insider Darren Dreger. Ristolainen, who was scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent this summer, will carry a cap hit of $5.1 under the new deal.

While the door has closed on a Ristolainen trade, Dreger notes the extension leaves questions as to whether the Flyers could look to move defenceman Travis Sanheim. The 25-year-old is signed through next season at a $4.675 million cap hit and Dreger adds he would high on the target lists of multiple teams if made available. Sanheim has four goals and 20 points in 54 games this season.

Some wondering if Risto extension opens the door to a Travis Sanheim trade either before the deadline or in the offseason. He would be pretty high on a few teams target lists. Left shot, $4.675 cap hit through next season. https://t.co/gBbTqqrQAt

Ristolainen has two goals and 13 points in 49 games this season, his first with the Flyers.

The Turku, Finland native has been playing out the final year of a six-year, $32.4 million deal, carrying a cap hit of $5.4 million.

Taken with the eighth overall pick of the 2013 NHL Entry Draft, Ristolainen spent the first eight seasons of his career with the Buffalo Sabres.

A vocal critic of the direction the Sabres were headed in at times, Ristolainen was traded to the Flyers ahead of last summer’s draft for defenceman Robert Hagg, the 14th overall pick in the 2021 draft (used on winger Isak Rosen) and a second-round selection in the 2023 draft.

Internationally, Ristolainen has represented Finland on a number of occasions and was a member of the squad that won gold at