Flyers defenseman sidelined by injury ahead of trade deadline

Flyers defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen will be out a minimum of two-to-three weeks before undergoing a procedure to address a minor upper-body injury, Kevin Kurz of The Athletic reports Wednesday. The Fourth Period’s Anthony Di Marco was the first to report that Ristolainen’s injury would keep him out for a significant amount of time.

Ristolainen, 29, was drumming up interest from multiple teams ahead of the March 8 trade deadline, including the Maple Leafs. Today’s news puts his availability for a deal in doubt, though, and he’s now likely to remain a Flyer until the offseason. After undergoing the procedure later this month, it’s unclear how long Ristolainen will be out, Kurz says. The Flyers also added Wednesday that Ristolainen has no timetable for a return and is still being checked.

Despite a lack of point production (one goal, three assists in 31 games), the 2013 eighth-overall pick is perhaps having the strongest defensive showing of his 11-year NHL career. His expected +4.9 rating is a career-high, and he’s managed to control a majority of expected goals when paired with youngster Yegor Zamula at even strength, per MoneyPuck.

Nonetheless, his $5.1M cap hit makes him a difficult asset to move, given he’s best suited for a two-way, third-pairing role at this stage in his career. His bump in defensive adeptness since arriving in Philadelphia via a 2021 trade from the Sabres has also come with a significant decrease in minutes, now averaging just 16:41 per game this year compared to his 22:50 career average. Add in that he’s signed through 2027, and it becomes a tough task for a team to swallow his contract, no matter how much improvement he’s shown in his game.

Ristolainen had to wait until late November to make his season debut after an undisclosed injury cost him the first 20 games of the season. He’s played in three of Philadelphia’s last six games due to a healthy scratch, illness, and the current upper-body injury, which held him out of Monday’s game against the Coyotes.

With the Flyers’ defense otherwise at full health, head coach John Tortorella has opted to dress seven defensemen, giving oft-scratched veteran Marc Staal a chance to play while winger Tyson Foerster is sidelined with a short-term lower-body injury. That ailment is expected to keep Foerster out “a few extra days,” GM Daniel Brière said today, meaning he’ll miss Thursday’s game against the Maple Leafs but not much longer.