Ristolainen in the Ramblings

[jman]

Hey guys, I just read today's ramblings featuring the future of the Sabres. Great read, by the way, as it gives us a good idea of where Buffalo is at. I'm just wondering about this quote (cut and paste from the ramblings):

Maybe a little bit less of a leg to stand on here because Ristolainen should have been out of the NHL three years ago. For some reason, the Sabres continue to believe he's some cornerstone or something, which might help inform us as to why the team has sucked for a decade.

I'm wondering about the part that reads, "...because Ristolainen should have been out of the NHL three years ago." I know he's not a star, but is he really not NHL-calibre?

[doulos]

I wasn't sure what was meant by that either.

[stevegamer]

I looked to see who wrote it, and had my answer as to why it's there. I think it's a crazy take, but everyone's entitled to their opinion on subjective stuff.

[newfcollins]

Ristolainen gets a lot of unfair flak. Not sure why.

[kovalchuk17]

definitely subjective. risto's advanced metrics are bad but his team has always been bad, so we wont really know unless he changes teams. his counting stats like hits/blocks are good though.

im of the general opinion that every player has their proper role. risto is not a top 2 dman, he may only be a top 4/6 and forced into role hes not good enough for.

[doulos]

definitely subjective. risto's advanced metrics are bad but his team has always been bad, so we wont really know unless he changes teams. his counting stats like hits/blocks are good though.

im of the general opinion that every player has their proper role. risto is not a top 2 dman, he may only be a top 4/6 and forced into role hes not good enough for.

Which is a fairer assessment than saying he should not be in the league in my opinion.

[lucafen4]

When he was playing with McCabe earlier in the year they were one of the mos effective tandems in the NHL. Might have been a 20 game window of effectiveness.. but none-the-less there they were.