Philadelphia Flyers forces to place another defenseman on injured reserve

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Joshua Deeds
October 18, 2022 (9:28)

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The Philadelphia Flyers are in a precarious position, with new faces in the organization everywhere. The start of the season, has been good as they're 2-0, but how long can John Tortorella hold the wheels together?

The latest injury in the Flyers organization, after Sean Courtier and Ryan Ellis is Finnish defenseman, Rasmus Ristolainen. Ristolainen was traded by the Buffalo Sabres to the Philadelphia Flyers in 2021, for Robert Hagg, the 14th pick in the 2021 NHL draft, and a 2023 2nd-round pick.

"I'm really excited to go to Philadelphia," Ristolainen said. "I'm going to do everything I can to help the team make the playoffs and make a run. I'm extremely happy it happened. I can't wait to get to Philly and meet everyone."

Unfortunately, the Robert Hagg deal did not work as the Sabres wanted, and they ended up shipping him to the Florida Panthers for a sixth-round pick. That pick turned into Gustav Karlsson, who put on a show for Örebro HK J20 in 2021-22 with 31 goals, 17 assists, and 48 total points.

It sounds like in the long-term neither team has won this trade, as Ristolainen has gotten a fresh start in Philadelphia, but hasn't taken strides in his already 8-year career to become a bigger part of the Flyers' core group.

Ristolainen had 16 points (two goals, 14 assists) and averaged 21:26 of ice time in 66 games last season.

On March 10th, he was signed to a 5-year, $25.5 million dollar extension with the team, worth $5.1 million annually, which sent the already spiraling fanbase into an even more angry state. Their reasoning wasn't wrong either, as through 49 games he had only produced 13 points with some suspect underlying numbers as well.

That's an expensive injury, but it's good at least for the short-term cap relief for the Flyers, and gives them some flexibility with allowing rookies like Cam York to play, should John Tortorella be bold enough to give the younger players a chance.

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