Buffalo Sabres D Rasmus Ristolainen Signs 6-Year Deal

Buffalo Sabres D Rasmus Ristolainen Reaches a 6-Year Agreement with Club For a Total $32.4 Million Dollars ($5.4 Million Dollar Cap Hit). The 21-Year Old Signed the Same Contract Columbus Blue Jackets D Seth Jones Agreed to Earlier in the Summer.

Announced via TSN’s Bob McKenzie, Buffalo Sabres D Rasmus Ristolainen has agreed to a six-year contract with a total $32.4 million dollars. The new deal will pay the 21-year-old $5.4 million annually, which oddly enough, is the exact same contract that Columbus Blue Jackets defenseman Seth Jones signed earlier this offseason.

The Finnish defender’s new contract leaves the Buffalo Sabres with $2,487,978 dollars of cap space heading into Wednesday’s 5pm deadline for 22/23 man rosters. At a $5.4 million dollar cap hit, Ristolainen is now the highest paid defender in Buffalo by roughly $350,000, and the third highest paid player on the team behind Ryan O’Reilly ($7.5 million/year) and Kyle Okposo ($6 million/year).

"via The Score,Ristolainen bounced back after a difficult second season with an encouraging third, scoring nine goals, posting 41 points, and improving his previously woeful underlying numbers. He’s still a work in progress, and will be playing up to his contract value, but has shown signs of growing into a legitimate, perhaps dominant, top-pairing defenseman."

Career/Resume

Buffalo Sabres D Rasmus Ristolainen was selected 8th overall back in 2013 after an impressive season playing with men as a 17-year-old in the SM-Liiga. He managed to crack the Sabres roster in his first training camp and wound up splitting that first year in 2013-14 between Buffalo and AHL Rochester.

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He had four points in 34 games with the big club while racking up 20 points in 34 games in the minors. Rasmus was actually loaned to Finland around Christmas that year and helped his country win a gold medal at the World Juniors before returning to join Rochester.

Rasmus stepped into his first full year of NHL action in 2014-15 and showed a lot of promise despite only tallying 20 points in 78 games. He more than doubled his production this past season in 2015-16 with 41 points in 82 games. In his short career, Ristolainen has managed to rack up 19 goals, 46 assists (65 points) in 194 games.

Reaction/Analysis

This is a very good deal for both the Buffalo Sabres and Rasmus Ristolainen. Similar to Gaudreau on Monday, there’s still a fair amount of term at a good price to make the team comfortable, while at the same time allows both players to earn that next big contract while still in their prime.

The ceiling in particular for Buffalo Sabres D Rasmus Ristolainen is extraordinarily high. We’re looking at a potential stud number one defenseman that could easily find his name in future Norris Trophy conversations.

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It seems that some fans in the hockey world have the wrong perception of who Rasmus Ristolainen is. They look at the stats and probably think here’s a quality offensive defender who can clearly move the puck efficiently. They wouldn’t be wrong, as there’s an incredible offensive element to his game that perhaps shadows over the things he does quietly and effectively.

Rasmus is a quality all-around defenseman who will only continue to get better as he continues to develop and grow.