It's NHL trade deadline season, and the Philadelphia Flyers have one game left before the bell rings at 3 p.m. on Friday. They don't have as many movable assets as in years past, when they traded Sean Walker to the Colorado Avalanche in 2024, Scott Laughton to the Toronto Maple Leafs, and Andrei Kuzmenko to the Los Angeles Kings in 2025. They do have one name who keeps popping up: Rasmus Ristolainen.
The Flyers don't need to trade Ristolainen at the deadline since he has a year remaining on his contract. They'd be perfectly happy to keep him and kick the can to the offseason or next deadline. If an appropriate offer never materializes — and the cost to acquire Ristolainen would be steep — then the Flyers can revisit the situation at a later date.
If, however, the concern is that the Flyers would significantly weaken their roster down the stretch by trading Ristolainen, that would be foolish. For starters, three wins do not absolve the Flyers of their dismal January slide down the standings. Their playoff odds are still quite slim, with Money Puck putting it at 11.3 percent. You could also make a case that the Flyers aren't that much better with Ristolainen in the lineup versus when he's out, and that a trade wouldn't ruin their defense group.
Ristolainen first suited up for the Flyers on December 16, over 30 games into the season. At the time, the Flyers were 16-9-6 and firmly in the playoff picture. Since Ristolainen's return, their record is 12-12-5, and they're barely clinging to their playoff hopes. Ristolainen missed six games in January with an injury (and is reportedly banged up at the time of writing), and the team went 2-3-1 in those games. Both wins came on the road against two powerhouses, the Vegas Golden Knights and the Colorado Avalanche. The team found a way to win against a pair of Stanley Cup contenders without him.
In his 23 games this season, Ristolainen has one goal, five assists, and a total of six points. He is a good defenseman coming off a strong showing at the Olympics, but he isn't an essential piece of this Flyers club now or in the future. If the right offer comes along, the Flyers should pull the trigger; it won't sink the Flyers' fading playoff chances, and they'll be just fine without him.