[SuperMatt18]

Yeah once I thought about it for a second it almost seemed too obvious.

Biggest issue with a deal like that (ignoring the players for a second) are the expansion draft implications. You end up moving a forward for a d-man, which ends up meaning you likely just lose a better d-man in the expansion draft.

Ristolainen is an interesting case study to me. Guy has actually always looked okay when I've watched him play for Buffalo with the eye test, but his advanced metrics are terrifying. But I'm also not sure advanced stats have figured out a way to normalize for a guy who's playing tough, top pairing minutes on a bad team, opposed to easier minutes in a second pairing on a better team.

He's actually a guy I would take a flyer if it were like a cap dump situation, I think he could have success where he could be slotted in a role that better fits his skill set, but no chance do you move Monahan for him as the center piece, especially with the expansion draft looming.