Rasmus Ristolainen Out Week-To-Week With Upper-Body Injury
It’s been one week since the news that Philadelphia Flyers’ defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen would be out for a few days with an upper-body injury. Philadelphia gave an important update on Ristolainen’s status this afternoon, sharing that his recovery timeline will take a few weeks instead.
The Flyers announcement was expected. Shortly before, Kevin Kurz of The Athletic passed along a message from head coach John Tortorella saying he didn’t expect Ristolainen back anytime soon. Although hindsight is 20/20 and no team could have precisely predicted a longer-term injury to Ristiolainen, it does give credibility to the teams that steered away from the Finnish blueliner at the NHL trade deadline due to injury concerns.
While no one in the Flyers organization suggested that Ristolainen’s injury will end his season, he may return close to the end. Philadelphia only has 13 more games remaining in the season and they aren’t expected to reach the postseason in the allotted time.
Ristolainen has missed the Flyers’ last three contests (excluding tonight’s game) due to his current injury, raising his season total to six missed games at the time of writing. The Turku, Finland native missed three games in February because of a similar upper-body injury which also precluded him from playing for Team Finland in the 4 Nations Face-Off.
Whether or not he’s played his last game this season, it’s been a quality year for Ristolainen. He’s scored four goals and 19 points in 63 games, making for his highest point-per-game average since his last year with the Buffalo Sabres in 2020-21. Additionally, he’s earning the most ATOI since his first year in Philadelphia and has reached the 100 shots on goal milestone for the first time since the 2019-20 season. Still, Ristolainen’s possession metrics are down 1.7% in terms of CorsiFor% at even strength, while his on-ice save percentage at even strength continues below his career average of 90.8%.
Ristolainen’s absence from tonight’s contest specifically could have ramifications for the 2025 Stanley Cup playoffs. The NHL released clinching scenarios for the Washington Capitals this evening, two of which require a win in any fashion over the Flyers. Washington will still need to rely on a specific outcome in the game between the New York Islanders and Montreal Canadiens, but they’ll have an easier path tonight without facing Ristolainen.
Flyers See Ersson At A Platoon Goalie
Flyers goaltender Samuel Ersson certainly hasn’t had it easy. Thrust into the starting spot midseason in 2023-24 while still getting his feet wet in the NHL, he has been the undisputed number one since then. But head coach John Tortorella indicated this weekend to reporters including Jordan Hall of NBC Sports Philadelphia that the team is hoping they’ll be able to deploy him in more of a tandem role when their goaltending situation is finalized. The hope was that Ivan Fedotov would be the other part of that platoon but he has struggled in his first full season in North America, as has youngster Aleksei Kolosov, calling into question if Ersson’s long-term platoon partner is either further away or outside the organization altogether.
Ristolainen And Hathaway Out Again Tonight
- The Flyers will once again be without defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen and winger Garnet Hathaway for their game against Carolina tonight, relays Jordan Hall of NBC Sports Philadelphia (Twitter link). Ristolainen is dealing with an upper-body injury that caused him to miss Thursday’s game versus Tampa Bay while Hathaway, who has resumed skating, has missed the last two weeks with an upper-body injury of his own.
Flyers' Rasmus Ristolainen Out Day-To-Day With Undisclosed Injury
- Flyers defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen will be held out of the lineup for tonight’s game against Tampa as he nurses a minor injury, Jordan Hall of NBC Sports Philadelphia reports. The 30-year-old was a speculative trade candidate at last week’s deadline but stayed put amid a lack of interest given general manager Daniel Brière‘s reportedly high asking price. He’s thrived in a defensively-oriented role this year, posting a career-high plus-three rating while averaging 20:31 per game on a Philly squad with a -24 goal differential at 5-on-5. 24-year-old lefty Yegor Zamula will replace him in the lineup after sitting as a scratch for Tuesday’s game against the Senators, the team announced.
John Tortorella Doesn't Envision Retirement Soon
- Flyers head coach John Tortorella reaffirmed he doesn’t anticipate ending his coaching career anytime soon, via Kevin Kurz of The Athletic. While he’s entering the final year of his contract in 2025-26, he called speculation that he’d shift to a front-office role for the Flyers “noise” and that it “never influences how I go about my business and never will.” The 66-year-old two-time Jack Adams winner has a 96-102-32 record behind the Philly bench and is set to miss the postseason for the third year in a row.
Philadelphia Flyers Recall Olle Lycksell, Rodrigo Abols
- As alluded to yesterday, the Philadelphia Flyers have confirmed the reassignment of netminder Aleksei Kolosov to their AHL affiliate, the Lehigh Valley Phantoms. Given that he’s been Philadelphia’s third-string option for much of the season, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Kolosov’s reassignment extend beyond the trade deadline. The second-year netminder has a 4-8-1 record in 15 games with the Flyers this season with a .870 SV% and 3.45 GAA. His performance hasn’t been any better with AHL Lehigh Valley as he’s recorded a 2-4-1 record in seven AHL contests with a .874 SV% and 3.59 GAA.
- In addition to recalling Emil Andrae, the Philadelphia Flyers are also making two more player recalls to their NHL roster. The team announced they’ve recalled forwards Olle Lycksell and Rodrigo Abols to the NHL roster for Saturday’s game against the Seattle Kraken. Abols has scored one goal and one assist in nine games for the Flyers this season, while Lycksell has gone scoreless in six contests.
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Maple Leafs Acquire Scott Laughton From Flyers
3:06 p.m.: The Flyers announced they’ve officially sent Laughton to Toronto, confirming the trade as reported below. The picks heading from Philly to the Leafs are a 2025 fourth-rounder and a 2027 sixth-rounder.
11:47 a.m.: The Maple Leafs are nearing a deal to acquire center Scott Laughton from the Flyers, David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period reports. The deal involves a number of pieces as the Maple Leafs will also acquire fourth and sixth-round draft picks from Philadelphia (as per TSN’s Darren Dreger). In exchange for Laughton and the draft picks, the Flyers will acquire a first-round pick and Nikita Grebenkin. The Flyers will also retain 50% of Laughton’s $3MM cap hit (as per TSN’s Chris Johnston) which will use up their final retention slot and carry into next season since Laughton has one more year on his deal that will now count just $1.5MM against Toronto’s salary cap. Laughton is owed just $2.5MM in actual salary for next season.
TSN’s Pierre LeBrun is reporting that the first round pick going to the Flyers is a 2027 selection and it will be top-10 protected. The trade leaves Toronto with just one first round selection in the next three drafts.
Laughton was drafted 20th overall by Philadelphia back in 2012 and since then has amassed 106 goals and 159 assists in 661 career NHL games. The Oakville, ON native has long been a solid two-way center and has had his two best offensive seasons over the past two years, posting 43- and 39-point seasons.
This year, the 30-year-old has tallied 11 goals and 16 assists in 60 games, to go along with a -17 plus/minus and 129 hits. He has been centering the Flyers’ second line this season and averaging 15:06 of ice time per game. With the trade to Toronto, there is a possibility he becomes their third line center, which should suit his game better as he remains a solid faceoff man and penalty killer.
The trade removes Laughton’s name from the trade rumor mill that has hounded him for much of the past few seasons. With the Flyers in a full retool, Laughton became a lucrative trade chip thanks to his solid play and reasonable contract. The move to Toronto should allow him to slot into a role that suits him better, while playing close to home, and away from the noise of the trade chatter.
PHR’s Josh Cybulski contributed to this article.
Avalanche Acquire Erik Johnson From Flyers
The Avalanche are bringing 2022 Stanley Cup champion Erik Johnson back to Denver. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports they’re acquiring the veteran defenseman from the Flyers. Colorado sent depth winger Givani Smith to Philadelphia in return, per Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff. The Flyers later made the move official, with general manager Daniel Brière saying they’ve recalled defenseman Emil Andrae from AHL Lehigh Valley in a corresponding move (via Jackie Spiegel of the Philadelphia Inquirer).
In a feel-good move by the Avalanche, Johnson returns to the organization he spent 13 years with. Since being acquired from the St. Louis Blues during the 2010-11 season, the former first overall pick of the 2006 NHL Draft scored 68 goals and 246 points in 717 games with the Avalanche, averaging 21:33 of ice time per night. His tenure in Colorado was defined by his willingness to sacrifice his body nearly every game and by his being an emotional leader for the club when they captured their third Stanley Cup ring in 2022.
Johnson is effectively the same version of the player he was when he last played for the Avalanche in 2022-23. The nearly 37-year-old was rarely deployed by the Flyers this year, scoring one goal and two assists in 22 games, averaging 13:18 of ice time per game. That’s effectively all Colorado will need out of him. Despite being a shell of the player he used to be, the Avalanche likely views Johnson as a solid leader to re-insert into the locker room and even an improvement upon Keaton Middleton in the team’s bottom-pair.
It didn’t take too much to acquire him, either. Smith has barely played in Colorado since the team acquired him in the trade that brought Mackenzie Blackwood to Denver. He’ll finish his tenure in Colorado with zero points in seven games and one assist in six AHL contests.
Meanwhile, Andrae has earned the right to play for the Flyers after a second promising season with AHL Lehigh Valley. Since transitioning to North American hockey in 2022-23, Andrae has scored 10 goals and 54 points in 96 games for the Phantoms.
He’s gotten an extended look with the Flyers, too. Due to multiple injuries on the team’s blue line, Andrae was allowed the opportunity to play in 24 games this year with Philadelphia, scoring one goal and six points, averaging 18:59 of ice time with a +2 rating. His possession and defensive metrics have been solid in limited action, giving the Flyers confidence to give him a full-time role in the NHL for the remainder of the season.
PHR’s Brennan McClain contributed to this article.
Kings To Acquire Andrei Kuzmenko
The Los Angeles Kings have reportedly acquired forward Andrei Kuzmenko from the Philadelphia Flyers (as per Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet). The deal will see a third round pick in 2027, and a 2025 seventh round pick (as per team release) headed back to the Flyers (as per Renaud Lavoie of TVA Sports) who will also retain 50% of Kuzmenko’s cap hit for the remainder of the season (as per David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period). Kuzmenko is in the second season of a two-year, $11MM contract that carries an annual cap hit of $5.5MM. With the 50% retention, Los Angeles will only be adding $2.75MM to their cap spreadsheet. Kuzmenko is set to hit unrestricted free agency at the end of the season.
It’s the second trade in two months for the 29-year-old Kuzmenko who was dealt from Calgary to Philadelphia back on January 30th along with Jakob Pelletier and two draft picks in exchange for Morgan Frost and Joel Farabee. It’s been a quiet season for Kuzmenko who has been unable to find stability among all of the movement. In 43 games this year, Kuzmenko has registered just six goals and 14 assists.
An undrafted free agent signing in July 2022, Kuzmenko had a monstrous rookie season with the Vancouver Canucks in 2022-23, posting 39 goals and 35 assists in 81 games. However, his sophomore season saw a dramatic drop off in production as Kuzmenko tallied just 22 goals and 24 assists in 72 games and was dealt midseason to Calgary in the Elias Lindholm trade.
Kuzmenko leaves Philadelphia having played just seven games with the Flyers. He was quite good in Philadelphia after struggling in Calgary, posting two goals and three assists in his abbreviated stay. He could prove to be a steal for the Kings if he can get on a heater. Kuzmenko has been streaky throughout his NHL career and has responded well following trades in the past. Last year after joining Calgary mid-season, Kuzmenko went on to notch 14 goals and 11 assists in his final 29 games after a sluggish start to his season. If Los Angeles gets production anything close to that it will have been worth the cost of the third-round pick.
Maple Leafs Showing Interest In Several Bottom-Six Forwards
With their cap space relatively limited (though likely to grow once Ryan Reaves is off the roster either via waivers or AHL assignment), the Maple Leafs appear to be looking at some lower-cost options up front. David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period reports (Twitter link) that among the bottom-six players Toronto is looking at are Kraken winger Brandon Tanev and Sharks forward Luke Kunin. Meanwhile, Pierre LeBrun of TSN and The Athletic adds (Twitter link) that they’re also in the mix for Flyers center Scott Laughton.
Tanev is in the final season of a six-year, $21MM contract carrying a $3.5MM AAV. The 33-year-old had a breakout offensive year in 2022-23, a campaign that saw him set new personal bests in goals (16), assists (19), and points (35). However, he hasn’t been able to reach that point total in the last two seasons combined as he has reverted to his more typical level of production.
This season, Tanev has nine goals and eight assists through 61 games. Of course, physicality is his main calling card and he’s once again averaging over two hits per contest. He’s also Seattle’s most-used forward on the penalty kill which will make him more appealing to Toronto and other playoff contenders. He has a 10-team no-trade list which could come into play depending on where he’s moved, assuming the Kraken find a swap to their liking.
Kunin, meanwhile, is the most versatile player out of this group as he can be deployed at all three forward positions. The 27-year-old has only reached the 30-point mark once in his career, that being back in 2019-20 when he had 31 points in 63 games. He has equaled his line from last year, tallying 11 goals and seven assists in 63 contests while chipping in with 163 hits. Like Tanev, Kunin is also heavily used on the penalty kill.
He’s in the last year of his contract, one that carries a $2.75MM AAV. Notably, San Jose does not have any remaining retention slots while Toronto doesn’t quite have enough money to bring him in, even if Reaves is off the roster. So if the Maple Leafs are to land Kunin, they’ll either have to open up some more cap space or a third team will need to get involved to retain a chunk of the contract.
As for Laughton, he’s more of a higher-end bottom-six piece. Through 59 games this season, he has 11 goals and 16 assists, his second straight season of a decline in per-game production. Of course, the 30-year-old is known for his sound defensive game and brings the size, physicality, and penalty killing acumen that many teams are known to be coveting.
Notably, Laughton has another year left on his contract on a deal that carries a $3MM AAV. Between that and the dearth of centers available, Philadelphia is believed to have set a high asking price for Laughton’s services, a package that includes a first-round pick. If Toronto GM Brad Treliving wants to make a longer-term splash over going for a rental, he’ll have to pay a pretty hefty price to do so.