Flyers’ Rasmus Ristolainen out for rest of season

Flyers defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen has been essentially shut down for the rest of the year according to interim head coach Brad Shaw.

It might not come as a huge surprise but it sounds as if Flyers defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen is being shut down for the remainder of the 2024-25 season. The blueliner, 30, played his last game March 11 against the Senators but hasn’t been heard from since.

When asked following Monday’s morning skate about Ristolainen — who hasn’t been seen skating for some time — interim head coach Brad Shaw essentially said he’s done for the year. “The plan is to not have him back this season,” Shaw said. “I’m not 100 per cent on what the timeline looks like. But I can’t imagine he would be playing in the next couple of weeks.”

Ristolainen had a promising season and looked to be on the radar for some playoff teams looking to shore up their back end for a deep run. However, the injury (which remains unknown) put those ideas of shedding his contract (two more seasons at a $5.1 million AAV) to rest. He played 63 games this season, scoring four times and adding 16 assists. If he doesn’t play the remainder of the season (only seven more games), Ristolainen will end the year with a career high in +/- (+3). In fact it’s the only time in his career he has finished a season on the plus side. His previous best season in that category was 2019-20 with Buffalo.

The defenseman had an injury-riddled 2023-24, playing in only 31 games and missing a lot of time with injury. He went under the knife to repair a ruptured triceps tendon in April, 2024 and spent the summer rehabbing after surgery. It’s unclear if Ristolainen will need just rest to recover from what’s wrong or another procedure is needed.

The injury isn’t also good news for general manager Danny Briere if he was considering moving him in the offseason. Although it’s only another two seasons at a manageable cap hit given the salary cap ceiling increasing, it would’ve been ideal to see Ristolainen’s spot next year taken by one of the Flyers prospects on the horizon, whether Oliver Bonk, Hunter McDonald or Alex Bump (currently still playing in the NCAA Frozen Four tournament). As it stands now, it’s hopefully a setback that can be remedied with rest before training camp rolls around in September.