Despite recent comments, Ristolainen dubbed a core player and centerpiece
Even though he recently voiced displeasure with the Buffalo Sabres, coach Ralph Krueger said he expects defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen to remain with the team.
"I want to coach 'Risto' next season. I would enjoy coaching Risto next season," Krueger said Friday. "So that's probably all I need to say to you. That Risto always comes with a little bit of bite is what we love about him. I'm expecting to see him as a centerpiece and a core player of our group next year."
As you can read here, Ristolainen, who just finished his seventh season with the team, acknowledged that it has been tough playing on a losing team for so many seasons.
“I've never been on a winning culture,” said Ristolainen. “We've been saying the bright future for seven years now … I'm not sure when is it.”
Ristolainen also said that if changes are coming to Buffalo, which he expects to happen after nine straight seasons of missing the playoffs, he assumes he's one of the people that would likely get traded. Krueger praised Ristolainen for speaking his mind.
"What I love about Risto is he doesn't hold back on anything," Krueger said. "He tells you the truth all the time. So, I've really enjoyed working with him this year. When I began coaching him and I was the leader of that room, he was somebody who wanted to be traded, and now he has embraced our path and he was all-in on our pathway this year. He attempted to compete at a high level right through. So he's a centerpiece of what we're doing here."
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YESTERDAY
MAY 14, 2026
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| G | A | PTS | ||
| Nick Suzuki | 1 | 2 | 3 | |
| Juraj Slafkovsky | - | 3 | 3 | |
| Pavel Dorofeyev | 2 | - | 2 | |
| Ivan Demidov | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Mitch Marner | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Shea Theodore | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Phillip Danault | - | 2 | 2 | |
| Lane Hutson | - | 2 | 2 | |
| Josh Anderson | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Cole Caufield | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Josh Doan | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Jake Evans | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Mikael Granlund | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Konsta Helenius | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Brett Howden | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Alexandre Texier | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Jason Zucker | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Rasmus Andersson | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Ivan Barbashev | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Leo Carlsson | - | 1 | 1 | |
| COMPLETE STATS | ||||