Grading Danny Brière’s trade deadline moves and decision to hold onto Rasmus Ristolainen

The Flyers made two NHL trades at a deadline that will be remembered for the deal that Danny Brière didn’t make. Here’s how our Flyers writers graded the Flyers general manager’s work leading up to Friday’s buzzer.

Patience is a word that Brière has brought up often since taking the reins of the Flyers. He’s shown patience with fixing the money issues former GM Chuck Fletcher left behind. He’s shown patience in getting what he wants, such as coveted first-round picks for Sean Walker and Scott Laughton at the last two trade deadlines, and waiting over a year to land Trevor Zegras from the Anaheim Ducks. And he’s shown some patience in letting the young players develop their games.

But while patience is a virtue, patience also wears thin.

» READ MORE: Acquiring David Jiříček is the latest example of the Flyers’ unorthodox approach to rebuilding. It’s worth the risk.

Pretty soon, it will be six seasons since the Flyers made the Stanley Cup playoffs — and that twirl wasn’t even in front of fans because the NHL played its postseason in a bubble due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It’s approaching eight seasons since a postseason game was played in what is now Xfinity Mobile Arena.

Is there some optimism? Sure. Youngsters with skill are waiting in the wings, like defenseman Oliver Bonk, goaltender Carson Bjarnason, and forwards Porter Martone and Alex Bump.

This grade would be a lot lower if it weren’t for two moves Brière made on Friday — trading Bobby Brink to open a winger spot for the next crop, and giving Nic Deslauriers a chance to chase a Stanley Cup. Both players were important in the room, and played their role perfectly — especially Brink, whose growth and development set a high bar — but on the ice, it was the right play to trade them.

But there was one big mistake on the GM’s part: as much as Rasmus Ristolainen is a key contributor now, the likelihood of him being a brick that builds the Flyers’ next playoff team is pretty slim.

Ristolainen is 31, has term on his contract at a relatively reasonable price, is coming off an impressive spin at the Winter Olympics for the Finns — where they won bronze — that he has carried over to the NHL, and is finally healthy. It was a prime and perfect opportunity to move the defenseman.

Did the Flyers want a first-rounder? They would have liked it, but it sounds like no one matched the Flyers’ ask.

“I did get a lot of calls, and we took them seriously,” he added. “We went through all the teams that were serious, but at the end of the day, it just did not make sense value-wise. ... We listened, but it made more sense to have Risto with us.”

Brière hinted that chats this week could lead to moves near the draft, but that’s a lot of risk with Ristolainen considering his recent past — notably three elbow surgeries the past two years. His stock was at an all-time high, and the Flyers should have moved him. Add in that, while Brière said on Friday he doesn’t see David Jiříček, who was acquired in the Brink deal, or Bonk ready to play big minutes right now, what about next season?

The roster of the future is coming into focus — slowly. Maybe too slowly. Let’s just hope that while patience is bitter, this fruit will eventually be sweet.

» READ MORE: Flyers trade Bobby Brink to Minnesota for 2022 top 10 pick David Jiříček

While I’ve disagreed with some of his draft picks, I’ve largely defended Brière’s work to clean up Fletcher’s mess and upgrade the organization’s talent, both at the NHL level and in the prospect pool. But Brière‘s decision to keep Ristolainen at this deadline, when buyers seemed to be paying exorbitant prices for mediocre players, is a head-scratcher.

Brière would not confirm Friday if a first-rounder was on the table for Ristolainen — the Flyers reportedly wanted a first plus a high-end prospect — but said: “All I can tell you is that the value wasn’t as high as we needed for us moving forward.” That refrain will fall on deaf ears with a large portion of the fan base since the Flyers seemed to be the only team with a big, right-shot defenseman not to receive high value at this year’s deadline.

It is hard to believe that the Flyers couldn’t get either a first, a high-end center, or defensive prospect for the 31-year-old Ristolainen given his “playoff style,” strong Olympics, and additional year of contract control. St. Louis got a first and a third from Detroit for defenseman Justin Faulk, who turns 34 this month, and Buffalo was willing to part with a first-rounder and towering defenseman Radim Mrtka, the ninth overall pick in last year’s draft, in its nixed deal with the Blues for 32-year-old Colton Parayko. Tyler Myers, 36, and Connor Murphy, soon-to-be 33, even brought back second-round picks for Pete’s sake!

Holding onto Ristolainen is not a disaster, as Brière still has time to try and find someone to meet his price, either at this June’s draft or next season before he becomes an unrestricted free agent — he was notably patient with Scott Laughton and it paid off. But I’m skeptical that Ristolainen’s value will ever be higher, and also worried about him staying healthy until then. This is someone who has missed 37 games this season after missing 19 last year and 51 in 2023-24. Brière also just questionably extended 30-year-old center Christian Dvorak for five seasons, so that same outcome for Ristolainen can’t be ruled out either, even if unlikely.

» READ MORE: 5 things to know about new Flyer David Jiříček, from his Cutter Gauthier connection to his powerful shot

Brière’s decision to stand pat with Ristolainen overshadowed the primary NHL deal he actually made when he shipped Brink to Minnesota for the intriguing Jiříček. I appreciate the ideology behind this move, as the Flyers traded a depth piece at a log-jammed position for a high-upside player at a position of need.

The Flyers have always liked Jiříček, the No. 6 overall pick in 2022, and it’s understandable given the defenseman’s size at 6-4 and legit offensive tools. While his pro career has been disappointing thus far, he’s still just 22 and is exactly the type of high-pedigree reclamation project that the Flyers should be buying low on. It’s easy to forget Jiříček was traded 16 months ago for Daemon Hunt, and first-, second-, third-, and fourth-round picks.

There’s a decent chance Jiříček doesn’t pan out, but if he does, the Flyers will have turned a surplus player like Brink into a big, top-four defenseman with serious power-play potential. That’s a bet worth making.

Brière could prove me wrong come June, but I think he overplayed his hand a bit here with Ristolainen and got burned.

» READ MORE: Flyers flip tough guy Nic Deslauriers to Carolina for a conditional draft pick