The NHL trade deadline is quickly approaching. The Dallas Stars have racked up injuries all season on the blue line, and need to fortify the position. Luckily for them, the perfect guy is being dangled at the trade deadline, he poses physical play, has solid defensive stats, and would slide great into any pairing. This player is Rasmus Ristolainen, and the Stars need to do everything in their power to get him before the deadline on March 7.
Dallas has had an amazing season thus far. They currently sit second in the Central Division and are rapidly closing in on the Winnipeg Jets. One weakness this year has been the defense. It started in the offseason when they signed Ilya Lyubushkin and Matt Dumba.
They’ve had their fair share of bad moments throughout the season. However, things were looking alright, but then Miro Heiskanen and Nils Lundkvist went down with injuries. Just three days after the Heiskanen injury, the Stars packaged a trade that included Cody Ceci to help fill a much-needed gap.
Unfortunately, they still need another guy to help sure up the blue line. Having an in-your-face defense first guy would be perfect for Dallas, who lacks that super physical identity at times. This would help the Stars possibly make a push for the #1 seed in the West, as well as give them a very good-looking defensive lineup once Heiskanen returns to the lineup.
The only caveat with this trade is that it would require Heiskanen to be moved to the long-term injury reserve. The other option would include a third team for salary retention purposes. The former option would put Heiskanen out until the playoffs, and the move is sort of taboo in the NHL. The Stars have found ways to win without the superstar defenseman, going 7-2-1 in their last ten games. While this move would be a little shady, winning a championship would be well worth it.
The latter option would include finding a third team that would be willing to retain part of Ristolainen’s salary. This would likely mean Dallas giving up an extra mid-round pick or a B-level prospect. If the Stars want a clear conscious, this could be the way to go.
Ristolainen is currently having one of the best defensive seasons in his career, posting a positive plus-minus for the first time. He would provide the physicality and defensive reliability needed to make a deep playoff run in the NHL. Grabbing him at the NHL trade deadline would be a big get for Dallas, who’s already made big moves this season.
Rasmus would either slide in next to Esa Lindell to provide a brick wall second pairing, or if Pete Deboer decided to spread the love defensively, he could even play on that third pairing with one of Ceci, Dumba, or Bichsel. Whatever the pairings would look like, Ristolainen improves the defensive core immediately and could help Dallas get over the hump in their quest for the Stanley Cup.
The asking price for Ristolainen is quite steep. Flyers GM Daniel Briere is in no rush to trade the defenseman. The asking price will be high, with two years left on his deal at 5.1 million dollars. While the likelihood of him getting traded at the NHL trade deadline isn’t the best, Dallas still has the assets to make it happen.
If Dallas wanted to make this trade happen, it would likely require sending their 2026 first-rounder over. This would mean that they wouldn’t have their 2025 first or second-rounders, or their 2026 first-rounder. While Dallas is in win-now mode, they still have a young team, and having high-round draft picks is still valuable long-term. The Stars would have to be 100% confident in their current prospects and roster, as well as acknowledge that this is an all-in year for them.
On top of the draft pick, a prospect may be needed to sweeten the deal. A player that could possibly be included is Christian Kyrou. He’s a 21-year-old right-hand defenseman who has had mixed results in the AHL. He’s a very young and raw prospect still, which would fit perfectly with the Flyers’ current vision. Both Kyrou and the 2026 first would likely be enough for the Flyers to agree to send over Ristolainen.
This is an incredibly risky move for Dallas. Giving up that much draft capital, even if late first-rounders aren’t as valuable, is still dangerous. That being said, I truly believe that the Stars could win a cup with Ristolainen, and they would still have him under contract for another season. With just one day left until the NHL trade deadline, only time will tell what will happen.
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