After reinjuring his tricep and missing the final few weeks of the season last year, Rasmus Ristolainen is inching closer to his season debut. Rick Tocchet did not put a true timeline on his return, but it will be less than a month but more than a week. He has been skating with the team's development staff to get up to speed with the new systems.
With that, it's likely his return falls within the next two to three weeks. That gives the Flyers a bit more time to figure out what they will need to do. Right now, they have seven defensemen on the roster. Adam Ginning was recently recalled from his conditioning stint and cleared waivers to remain with the Phantoms. So he is out of the picture for the time being.
Ginning's loan to the AHL made clear what was already known. Emil Andrae was here to stay and had claimed a roster spot well before this decision was made. Since his return in early November, Andrae has appeared in every game, and his responsibilities have steadily grown. Now up to almost 19 minutes a game, it's clear Tocchet has liked what he has seen.
Andrae has earned top-four minutes and has recently spent time with Jamie Drysdale on the second pair, having now spent more time with Drysdale than he did with Noah Juulsen, his previous partner in the NHL. There have been some mistakes on Andrae's part as his time on ice has increased, but overall, he's been rather solid in this new spot. It would be tough to see the Flyers taking him out of the lineup any time soon.
With that comes the two defenseman who have both been in and out of the lineup as of late. Due to Ristolainen's injury and a need for more bodies on the backend, the Flyers signed Noah Juulsen this past summer. He had a familiarity with Tocchet and could be plugged in or used as a seventh defenseman.
At the beginning of the season, he was a permanent fixture on the bottom pairing. And as a veteran, he spent his time with the Flyers' young defenseman (Andrae, Ginning, Egor Zamula). He has helped all three at various times earn their spot and find their way.
Juulsen owns some of the worst advanced metrics among all of the Flyers' defensemen, however. His average time on ice has dropped. The Flyers don't have strong ties, as he'll be a free agent at the end of the season. But Tocchet has trusted him to do his job. With the glowing reviews he has gotten, a move to waivers and a potential demotion to the AHL may not be in the cards. The Flyers could explore his trade market as teams typically like defensemen like him.
That leaves Zamula as the only other option. The Flyers have seemingly done everything they can to avoid exposing Zamula to waivers. Andrae is one of only three players who didn't need to pass through, hence his back and forth between the Flyers and Phantoms. But with Andrae's play rightfully earning him a promotion, it has left Zamula fighting for a spot.
He has appeared in 11 games this season, recently sitting on the sidelines for nearly three weeks before playing in three of the last six games. He was back in the lineup against the Sabres, though it feels like his spot is the least safe of them all. The Flyers have invested years in Zamula's development, but a time may come when they have to cut their losses.
There have been rumors in the past about teams showing interest, but things have been rather quiet as of late. Zamula is also in the final year of his deal, and if he is not part of the future, the Flyers might want to get something for the time they have invested in him.
That decision won't have to be made yet, but it's worth keeping an eye on what the Flyers defense looks like in the next few weeks.