If you read any article about the Philadelphia Flyers, I hope you grab it here first. And if you've read any article about the Flyers for the last, I don't know...30 years or so, some topics could almost be like filling out a Mad Libs. "____ in net shows that the Flyers still can't find their star goalie." "____ fired as head coach as coaching carousel continues." Among the recent ones over the last few years has been "Is this Rasmus Ristolainen's last year as a Flyer?"
Let's be honest, this is something just about every Flyers fan has wanted to know. Thankfully, the team didn't go the buyout route as they'd be paying off that hefty contract for years to come.
Ristolainen has been all over the place since arriving. He came over to Philadelphia for a first and second round pick, as well as being the reason that the team traded away fan favorite Shayne Gostisbehere for nothing. He was signed to a huge deal at $5.1 million. He had a ton of expectations after years of playing on the forever floundering Sabres.
His level of play has been "meh" at best. His first year in Philly, he struggled to stay healthy, and his level of play was poor. The fans were very quick to turn on him, and he became an easy target for people to see why the team was struggling.
When John Tortorella arrived, he publicly lambasted Ristolainen for playing poorly, and BAM!, he took off. In his second season in 2022-23, he scored three goals with 17 assists while appearing in 74 games. Honestly, he was probably the Flyers' best defensive player that season.
Then the injuries came back again. The 74 games he played have been the most he's played as a Flyer. The following season, he appeared in just 31 games. Last year, he missed 19 games. It's a shame because his production was up (4G, 15A).
The Flyers have stood firm on not wanting to trade him. Are they saying that because they like him, or do they want to drive up the price? Allegedly, teams have been "making offers" on him. Are they good offers or ones that are foolish to take? With his contract expiring at the end of next season, the Flyers might be able to get more for him and not have to eat so much of his salary. That could give some of the prospects a chance to come up and make their mark.
For the last few years, a lot of Flyers fans would love to see Ristolainen gone, kind of like how many Philly fans may shed few tears if Nick Castellanos were gone. He's played well at times and frustrated fans at other times. He gets hurt regularly and hasn't lived up to his contract. He was overrated when he came, but maybe the hype and unrealized expectations hurt opinions on him.
Ristolainen never became the offensive threat he was expected to be. After his first two seasons, he stopped being the big, physical force he used to be. While never great at stealing passes, he has never been one to cough the puck up too much.
Will this be the last year Ristolainen is in Philadelphia? We'll see. Most of that will depend on whether a prospect can rightfully unseat him (Oliver Bonk perhaps?). If not, and if Ristolainen is healthy, he might finish out this year donning the orange and black. One thing is for sure: you never know what you are going to get with him.