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Rasmus Ristolainen

#55 · Defence · Philadelphia Flyers

Born Oct 27, 1994 in Turku, FIN (age 31) · 6'4", 208 lb · Shoots right · Drafted 8th overall in 2013 by BUF (round 1)

Compare with a similar player

The defencemen closest to him in points in 2017-18. Pick one to see the two side by side, or choose someone else.

Colin Miller VGK · 41 P in 82 GP Ivan Provorov PHI · 41 P in 82 GP Jake Muzzin LAK · 42 P in 74 GP Mikhail Sergachev TBL · 40 P in 79 GP Nick Leddy NYI · 42 P in 80 GP

Career

Regular season games only. Pick a season to see its game log below. Cap hit is what he counted against the salary cap that season, where it is known.

0102030402013-14: 4 points413-142014-15: 20 points2014-152015-16: 41 points4115-162016-17: 45 points4516-172017-18: 41 points4117-182018-19: 43 points4318-192019-20: 33 points3319-202020-21: 18 points1820-212021-22: 16 points1621-222022-23: 20 points2022-232023-24: 4 points423-242024-25: 19 points1924-252025-26: 14 points1425-262026-27: 1 points126-27

Points by season. The darker bar is the season shown below.

Season Team GP G A P +/- PIM Shots Hits P/GP Cap hit
2013-14 BUF 34 2 2 4 -15 6 52 66 0.12 $925K
2014-15 BUF 78 8 12 20 -32 26 121 118 0.26 $925K
2015-16 BUF 82 9 32 41 -21 33 202 139 0.50 $925K
2016-17 BUF 79 6 39 45 -9 58 186 195 0.57 $5.4M
2017-18 BUF 73 6 35 41 -25 48 182 206 0.56 $5.4M
2018-19 BUF 78 5 38 43 -41 38 182 235 0.55 $5.4M
2019-20 BUF 69 6 27 33 -2 46 128 203 0.48 $5.4M
2020-21 BUF 49 4 14 18 -18 36 73 193 0.37 $5.4M
2021-22 PHI 66 2 14 16 -9 38 97 230 0.24 $5.4M
2022-23 PHI 74 3 17 20 -4 32 86 162 0.27 $5.1M
2023-24 PHI 31 1 3 4 -6 8 46 56 0.13 $5.1M
2024-25 PHI 63 4 15 19 3 14 100 97 0.30 $5.1M
2025-26 PHI 44 1 13 14 10 16 58 48 0.32 $5.1M
2026-27 PHI 3 1 0 1 0 0 4 4 0.33 $5.1M
14 seasons Career 823 58 261 319 -169 399 1517 1952 0.39

Playoffs

Playoff games only. Pick a season to see that year's bracket.

Season Team GP G A P +/- PIM Shots Hits P/GP
2025-26 PHI 10 1 4 5 1 20 18 20 0.50
1 season Playoffs 10 1 4 5 1 20 18 20 0.50

2017-18 season totals

GP G A P +/- PIM Shots Hits P/GP Shooting % Avg TOI
73 6 35 41 -25 48 182 206 0.56 3.3 26:30

Contract

$5.4MCap hitends in 2022, then UFA
$132KCap dollars per point41 points in 73 games
$2.066MCap dollars per goal above replacement2.6 goals above replacement
$2.3MWorth at the going ratewhat teams paid for a season like his
-$3.1MValueworth minus cap hit; below zero is overpaid

His cap hit for the whole season, set against what he did in the regular season. Lower is better value. In a season still being played the cost per point starts high and falls as the games add up. Value is coloured by where it ranks among the 691 ranked skaters whose contract is known. How value is worked out.

The contract

Signed by the Buffalo Sabres on Oct 11, 2016, as a new contract: 6 years and $32.4M, beginning in 2016-17. It runs through 2021-22, with 4 seasons left after this one, and he is then an unrestricted free agent.

Season Cap hit Base salary Signing bonus Performance bonuses Paid in all Clause
2016-17 $5.4M $5.4M $0 $5.4M
2017-18 $5.4M $5.4M $0 $5.4M
2018-19 $5.4M $5.4M $0 $5.4M
2019-20 $5.4M $5.4M $0 $5.4M
2020-21 $5.4M $4.4M $1M $5.4M
2021-22 $5.4M $5.4M $0 $5.4M

Each season of the contract, with this one marked. The cap hit is the same every year; what he is paid is not. The pay is as written when the contract was recorded in October 2024, so a later change, such as the rise in the lowest salary for 2026-27, is not shown.

Contracts he has signed

Signed Signed by Kind Seasons Years In all Cap hit
Mar 10, 2022 Philadelphia Flyers Extension 2022-23 to 2026-27 5 $25.5M $5.1M
Oct 11, 2016 Buffalo Sabres New contract 2016-17 to 2021-22 6 $32.4M $5.4M
Jul 12, 2013 Buffalo Sabres Entry-level 2013-14 to 2015-16 3 $5.325M $925K

Every contract on record for him, newest first, with the team that signed him to it and the day it was signed. The one covering 2017-18 is marked. An extension is signed while the contract before it is still running, often a year ahead. A row with no team or date is a contract known only by its cap hit, most often one signed since October 2024.

2017-18 analytics

Rating

+2.6Goals above replacement330th of 691 skaters, 104th of 240 defencemen
+0.4Wins above replacementgoals above replacement divided by six
-3.8Goals above averagethe five parts below added up

Each number is coloured by where it ranks among the 240 ranked defencemen: green is in the top fifth and red the bottom fifth, with paler shades in between and amber for the middle. Hover over a tile for its percentile.

Even-strength offence-0.8 49th percentileEven-strength defence-3.4 9th percentilePower play-0.1 45th percentilePenalty kill-0.4 14th percentilePenalties+0.9 96th percentile

The goals he added to his team's goal difference, compared with a spare-part player given the same ice time. Each part is measured against the league, so zero is an average skater, and the rank beside it is among defencemen. A full season is about two-thirds the player and one-third chance. Before 2023-24 the NHL timed events less exactly, and differently from rink to rink, so expected goals for this season are rougher than for recent ones.

-6-4-202462013-142015-162017-182019-202021-222023-242025-26Goals above replacementGoals above replacement, by season

On the ice

What happened at five-on-five while he was on the ice. What these numbers mean

47.8Corsi for %1237 attempts for, 1349 against
+0.2CF% relative to teamagainst the team without him
46.5Expected goals for %48.0 expected for, 55.2 against
+1.6xGF% relative to teamagainst the team without him
48.2Fenwick for %unblocked attempts
42.0Goals for %42 for, 58 against
98.2PDO5.9% shooting + 92.3% saves
207Attempts takenhis own shot attempts

Each share is coloured by where it ranks among the 600 skaters who played enough to be ranked: green is in the top fifth and red the bottom fifth, with paler shades in between and amber for the middle. Hover over a tile for its percentile. PDO and attempts taken are left plain, since neither is good or bad on its own.

Who he played with

Defence pairGPTimeCF%xGF%Goals
Marco Scandella · Rasmus Ristolainen71949:3648.747.126-34
Nathan Beaulieu · Rasmus Ristolainen30167:4348.844.75-9
Rasmus Ristolainen · Brendan Guhle1376:2849.742.66-4
Jake McCabe · Rasmus Ristolainen3242:2348.152.03-4

The pairs he spent the most time in at five-on-five, with the team's share of the shot attempts and expected goals, and the goals for and against, while they were out. The two shares are coloured as above, against the league's pairs that played a fair amount together. Hover over one for its percentile.

Chances and finishing

Expected goals adds up how likely each of his shots was to go in, judged by where it came from, what kind of shot it was and whether it was a rebound. All situations, leaving out shots at an empty net. Before 2023-24 the NHL timed events less exactly, and differently from rink to rink, so expected goals for this season are rougher than for recent ones.

5Goalsnot counting empty-netters
7.2Expected goalsfrom 251 unblocked attempts
-2.2Goals above expectedgoals minus expected goals
Chances created 0.22 expected goals per 60 minutes64th
Shot quality 2.9% chance per attempt42nd
Finishing -2.2 goals above expected11thOne season of finishing is mostly luck.

Each bar shows the share of defencemen he is ahead of, among the 242 who played 300 minutes or more this season.

0246Game 20Game 40Game 60Expected 7.2Goals 5

His goals and his expected goals as the season went on. When the goals line pulls away above, he is scoring more than his chances were worth; below, less.

Where he shot from

Every attempt he took this season, in all situations, attacking the net on the right. Darker red means more attempts from that spot, and each dot is a goal. "Show every shot" switches to a dot for each attempt, bigger for a better chance. Click a goal for its details.

Game log

Date Opponent Result G A P +/- PIM Shots Hits TOI
Apr 7, 2018 @ FLA L 3-4 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 24:15
Apr 6, 2018 @ TBL L 5-7 0 1 1 -2 0 4 4 26:52
Apr 4, 2018 vs OTT L 2-4 0 0 0 -1 0 1 1 25:23
Apr 2, 2018 @ TOR L 2-5 0 1 1 -2 0 2 3 26:00
Mar 31, 2018 @ NSH W 7-4 0 3 3 0 0 0 1 28:05
Mar 29, 2018 vs DET L 3-6 0 1 1 -1 2 3 2 27:53
Mar 26, 2018 @ TOR W 3-2 0 0 0 1 0 1 4 26:29
Mar 24, 2018 @ NYR L 1-5 0 0 0 -1 0 5 0 25:34
Mar 23, 2018 vs MTL L 0-3 0 0 0 -2 0 1 3 26:36
Mar 21, 2018 vs ARI L 1-4 0 0 0 -1 0 4 3 26:22
Mar 19, 2018 vs NSH L 0-4 0 0 0 0 0 4 5 24:43
Mar 17, 2018 vs CHI W 5-3 0 1 1 0 2 3 2 24:18
Mar 15, 2018 vs TOR L 2-5 0 1 1 -1 0 8 4 27:11
Mar 10, 2018 vs VGK L 1-2 (SO) 0 0 0 -1 0 2 0 29:20
Mar 8, 2018 @ OTT W 4-3 (SO) 0 0 0 2 2 1 2 31:52
Mar 7, 2018 vs CGY L 1-5 0 0 0 -2 0 1 4 22:57
Mar 5, 2018 vs TOR W 5-3 0 2 2 3 5 1 4 25:52
Mar 2, 2018 @ FLA L 1-4 0 0 0 0 2 3 3 23:55
Feb 28, 2018 @ TBL W 2-1 (OT) 0 1 1 0 0 2 1 28:28
Feb 25, 2018 vs BOS W 4-1 0 1 1 0 0 5 4 28:07
Feb 24, 2018 @ WSH L 1-5 0 0 0 -3 0 2 5 24:00
Feb 22, 2018 @ DET W 3-2 (OT) 1 1 2 1 0 3 3 28:00
Feb 19, 2018 vs WSH L 2-3 0 0 0 -1 0 3 5 27:12
Feb 17, 2018 vs LAK L 2-4 1 0 1 0 2 5 1 25:36
Feb 15, 2018 @ OTT L 2-3 (OT) 0 0 0 -1 0 3 4 28:18
Feb 13, 2018 vs TBL W 5-3 0 1 1 0 0 1 1 28:26
Feb 11, 2018 vs COL L 4-5 0 1 1 -3 0 1 2 23:48
Feb 10, 2018 @ BOS W 4-2 1 0 1 2 0 3 5 27:03
Feb 8, 2018 vs NYI W 4-3 0 1 1 1 0 1 6 27:37
Feb 6, 2018 vs ANA L 3-4 (OT) 0 0 0 -2 2 3 5 32:39
Feb 3, 2018 vs STL L 0-1 0 0 0 0 0 3 4 27:23
Feb 1, 2018 vs FLA L 2-4 0 0 0 0 0 1 3 27:24
Jan 30, 2018 vs NJD L 1-3 0 0 0 -2 0 3 3 27:14
Jan 25, 2018 @ VAN W 4-0 0 1 1 2 0 0 1 26:12
Jan 23, 2018 @ EDM W 5-0 0 2 2 1 0 2 2 24:26
Jan 22, 2018 @ CGY W 2-1 (OT) 0 1 1 1 0 2 3 32:26
Jan 20, 2018 vs DAL L 1-7 0 1 1 -1 0 3 0 23:51
Jan 18, 2018 @ NYR L 3-4 1 0 1 -1 2 5 4 26:18
Jan 11, 2018 vs CBJ W 3-1 0 0 0 1 2 2 3 28:16
Jan 9, 2018 vs WPG L 4-7 0 1 1 1 0 1 1 27:07
Jan 7, 2018 @ PHI L 1-4 0 1 1 -2 0 2 4 25:17
Jan 5, 2018 @ WPG L 3-4 0 1 1 0 2 1 5 26:24
Jan 4, 2018 @ MIN L 2-6 0 0 0 -1 15 3 0 05:43
Jan 1, 2018 vs NYR L 2-3 (OT) 1 1 2 1 0 2 1 26:00
Dec 29, 2017 @ NJD W 4-3 (OT) 1 1 2 1 0 3 6 25:52
Dec 27, 2017 @ NYI L 2-3 (OT) 0 0 0 0 0 2 1 27:12
Dec 23, 2017 @ CAR L 2-4 0 0 0 -1 0 1 2 25:48
Dec 22, 2017 vs PHI W 4-2 0 0 0 2 2 0 1 28:06
Dec 19, 2017 vs BOS L 0-3 0 0 0 -3 0 4 1 24:34
Dec 15, 2017 vs CAR L 4-5 (OT) 0 0 0 -1 0 1 2 26:25
Dec 14, 2017 @ PHI L 1-2 0 0 0 0 0 3 4 23:04
Dec 12, 2017 vs OTT W 3-2 0 2 2 -1 0 0 3 22:31
Dec 10, 2017 @ STL L 2-3 (OT) 0 0 0 -1 0 4 8 29:17
Dec 8, 2017 @ CHI L 2-3 (OT) 0 0 0 -2 0 3 2 31:44
Dec 5, 2017 @ COL W 4-2 0 0 0 4 2 4 2 30:42
Dec 2, 2017 @ PIT L 1-5 0 0 0 -2 0 5 1 28:11
Dec 1, 2017 vs PIT L 0-4 0 0 0 -2 0 1 4 22:35
Nov 28, 2017 vs TBL L 0-2 0 0 0 -1 2 4 2 25:09
Nov 25, 2017 @ MTL L 0-3 0 0 0 -2 0 2 5 25:49
Nov 24, 2017 vs EDM W 3-1 0 2 2 2 0 5 3 27:32
Nov 2, 2017 @ ARI W 5-4 0 1 1 1 0 5 2 24:24
Oct 28, 2017 vs SJS L 2-3 0 0 0 -1 0 4 1 26:25
Oct 25, 2017 @ CBJ L 1-5 0 0 0 -1 0 2 3 25:45
Oct 24, 2017 vs DET W 1-0 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 29:25
Oct 21, 2017 @ BOS W 5-4 (OT) 0 0 0 3 0 2 7 29:40
Oct 20, 2017 vs VAN L 2-4 0 1 1 -1 0 3 1 28:37
Oct 17, 2017 @ VGK L 4-5 (OT) 0 1 1 -1 2 0 3 28:48
Oct 15, 2017 @ ANA W 3-1 0 0 0 0 0 2 3 26:50
Oct 14, 2017 @ LAK L 2-4 0 0 0 0 0 0 6 28:12
Oct 12, 2017 @ SJS L 2-3 0 0 0 -1 0 6 2 26:56
Oct 9, 2017 vs NJD L 2-6 0 1 1 -3 0 1 3 26:37
Oct 7, 2017 @ NYI L 3-6 0 1 1 0 2 2 0 24:27
Oct 5, 2017 vs MTL L 2-3 (SO) 0 0 0 0 0 4 5 26:58