Rasmus Ristolainen Injury Adds to Growing Concern Around Flyers

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Rasmus Ristolainen, suddenly week-to-week with an upper-body injury, has played more than 70 games in a season just once since joining the Philadelphia Flyers.

Ristolainen, 30, was listed as day-to-day by the Flyers just a week ago, and hasn't played for the Flyers since March 11. The sudden change in status just adds to the Flyers' growing list of concerns lately.

Fans may draw back to a similar situation last year, where Ristolainen suffered an "minor upper-body injury" as of Feb. 12, 2024, was downgraded week-to-week 15 days later, then eventually missed the rest of the season with the Flyers squarely in the hunt for a playoff spot.

It was then revealed in April, after the end of the season, that Ristolainen had undergone a surgery on his triceps tendon.

Flyers head coach John Tortorella told reporters in Washington D.C. Thursday that he's not expecting Ristolainen back any time soon, and with 12 games left, excluding Thursday's game against the Washington Capitals, it certainly seems as though this injury could be a second consecutive season-ending ailment for the Finn.

Ristolainen's injury creates a paradox for the Flyers moving forward, too.

Torts was asked if he expects Rasmus Ristolainen back from his injury any time in the near future. "No" was his response. So there goes the concern about Andrae getting regular games.

(On the flip side, it justifies other teams' deadline concerns about Risto's injury history.)

— Charlie O'Connor (@charlieo_conn) March 20, 2025

Tortorella is a big proponent of Ristolainen's and has indirectly made it clear over the course of the season that he wants the 6-foot-4 defenseman in Philadelphia and in his lineup.

Up top, Flyers general manager Danny Briere told the media in his post-trade deadline press conference that trading Ristolainen would leave a "huge hole," and if the Flyers get in the playoffs, "he becomes very, very valuable."

The problem, of course, is that there are a lot of hypotheticals at play.

Last year, Ristolainen missed time at the start of the season, as well as the final two months of the season when the Flyers were genuinely in the postseason picture.

Now, Ristolainen is again out, and the Flyers could use his steadying presence amidst a stretch of some of the worst hockey they've played in years - one that has seen them go 2-7-1 in their last 10 games and suffering back-to-back shutouts.

Is there value in retaining a player whose recent injury history has made him unreliable at key times in the year?

And is there value in selling low on Ristolainen and trading him to another team that was previously unwilling to meet the asking price?

It's an unenviable place to be if you're the Flyers.

Oliver Bonk is set to turn pro after the end of his OHL season with London, and Spencer Gill will do the same next year. And what comes of Helge Grans, a former second-round pick and a centerpiece of the Ivan Provorov trade who was solid in his handful of NHL games this season?

There remains quite a bit for the Flyers to evaluate in regards to their future, which they clearly see Ristolainen as a part of. How, or if, this latest injury development affects that remains to be seen.

Ristolainen has played 63 games for the Flyers this season, scoring four goals, 15 assists, and 19 points while averaging 20:31 of ice time - his highest under Tortorella.

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