His return to the lineup lasted two games and a total of 17:39. We've been waiting for a while for Rasmus Ristolainen to return to the lineup for the Philadelphia Flyers. He's appeared in just 15 games this season after missing the tail end of last year with a torn tricep injury.
He was sidelined again with a lower-body injury. It cost him most of the game against Columbus, and his presence could have made a difference. Luckily for him and the Flyers, he returned the next day. The upcoming Olympic break should help heal him, but he's scheduled to appear for Team Finland.
Since coming over to Philadelphia from Buffalo in a very controversial trade, he's struggled with injuries. He's had COVID, upper body injuries, lower body injuries, and torn triceps. He's yet to play a full 82-game season as a Flyer.
Ristolainen's best season was, perhaps, the 2022-23 season. Ivan Provorov had won the Barry Ashbee Trophy that season, but you could have made an argument for Ristolainen. His 20 points that year were the most he had scored as a member of the Flyers. His 24 takeaways were one off of a career high he had in Buffalo. After getting publicly chewed out by the head coach, John Tortorella, he seemed to turn it around.
But then the injuries and inconsistent play mounted again. At each trade deadline, rumors would arrive that some teams might be interested in acquiring him. Then he'd get hurt again and, well, that kind of killed those talks off.
Since acquiring Ristolainen, the Flyers thought they were going to get a fast, puck-moving defender who could replace Shayne Gostisbehere on the blueline. In fact, he was billed as a tougher version, as he was known to deliver some big blows in Buffalo. He would be a fast, physical, scoring skater.
While he has been physical, he has never delivered on the points. Sometimes he was a very solid defender. However, it seemed as if every time he turned it around, he'd get hurt again.
That's been one of the hardest things to deal with when it comes to figuring Ristolainen out. As good as he has been at times, it's not been enough. The injuries keep mounting for him, which will make it harder to deal him away. While his absences have helped younger players like Emil Andrae to get more playing time and experience, there were also times the team seemed to be playing better with him around.
The enigma that is Ristolainen will haunt this team for a while. Was acquiring him worth losing the draft picks and Gostisbehere? Was it just the injuries that hampered him? Fans never really warmed up to him. Were we part of the problem as well? Was there a chance that he could've been moved this year? Is that now shot as well?
We'll have to see how the next few games go. After that, he'll head to the Olympics to play for Finland. By then, there will only be a few games left until the deadline. That will help give us the answer.