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Rasmus Ristolainen To Undergo Upper-Body Procedure, Out Multiple Weeks

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Flyers defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen will be out a minimum of two to three weeks before undergoing a procedure to address a minor upper-body injury, Kevin Kurz of The Athletic reports Wednesday. The Fourth Period’s Anthony Di Marco was the first to report that Ristolainen’s injury would keep him out for a significant amount of time.

Ristolainen, 29, was drumming up interest from multiple teams ahead of the March 8 trade deadline, including the Maple Leafs. Today’s news puts his availability for a deal in doubt, though, and he’s now likely to remain a Flyer until the offseason. After undergoing the procedure later this month, it’s unclear how long Ristolainen will be out, Kurz says. The Flyers also added Wednesday that Ristolainen has no timetable for a return and is still being checked.

Despite a lack of point production (one goal, three assists in 31 games), the 2013 eighth-overall pick is perhaps having the strongest defensive showing of his 11-year NHL career. His expected +4.9 rating is a career-high, and he’s managed to control a majority of expected goals when paired with youngster Yegor Zamula at even strength, per MoneyPuck.

Nonetheless, his $5.1MM cap hit makes him a difficult asset to move, given he’s best suited for a two-way, third-pairing role at this stage in his career. His bump in defensive adeptness since arriving in Philadelphia via a 2021 trade from the Sabres has also come with a significant decrease in minutes, now averaging just 16:41 per game this year compared to his 22:50 career average. Add in that he’s signed through 2027, and it becomes a tough task for a team to swallow his contract, no matter how much improvement he’s shown in his game.

Ristolainen had to wait until late November to make his season debut after an undisclosed injury cost him the first 20 games of the season. He’s played in three of Philadelphia’s last six games due to a healthy scratch, illness, and the current upper-body injury, which held him out of Monday’s game against the Coyotes.

With the Flyers’ defense otherwise at full health, head coach John Tortorella has opted to dress seven defensemen, giving oft-scratched veteran Marc Staal a chance to play while winger Tyson Foerster is sidelined with a short-term lower-body injury. That ailment is expected to keep Foerster out “a few extra days,” GM Daniel Brière said today, meaning he’ll miss Thursday’s game against the Maple Leafs but not much longer.

Rasmus Ristolainen And Tyson Foerster Out Day-To-Day

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Carolina Hurricanes reporter Walt Ruff writes that Hurricanes defenseman Brett Pesce has returned to team practice after missing the last two games with an illness. The 29-year-old hasn’t played since last Tuesday and is mired in a seven-game point drought in what has been a disappointing offensive season for the pending unrestricted free agent. Pesce has just three goals and four assists in 41 games after posting a career-high 30 points last season in 82 games. His defensive metrics are still fantastic as Pesce remains the Hurricanes’ best option for the difficult defensive matchups against elite competition.

Pesce could suit up tomorrow night when the Hurricanes travel to Dallas to take on the Stars in their first of three games on the road. Carolina currently sits second in the Metropolitan Division with a 30-16-5 record and has begun to pull away from the teams behind them as they are 7-3 in their last ten games.

In other Metropolitan notes:

  • The New Jersey Devils have recalled goaltender Akira Schmid from the Utica Comets of the AHL. Schmid dressed in 15 games for the Devils earlier in the season but struggled to hold onto an NHL job with a 5-7-1 record, a 3.26 goals-against average and an .893 save percentage. Schmid will serve as the likely backup to Nico Daws while Vitek Vanecek is sidelined due to a lower-body injury. Schmid was assigned to the AHL a month ago and has struggled in 12 games going 3-5-4 with an .885 save percentage and a 3.58 goals-against average.
  • The Philadelphia Flyers are dealing with a couple of minor injuries as defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen and forward Tyson Foerster will be sidelined until at least the weekend. Ristolainen has an upper-body injury and Flyers GM Daniel Briere is hoping he will be back by the weekend. Foerster has a lower-body injury and Briere is also hoping he can play this weekend as well. Ristolainen has struggled this season and has just a goal and three assists in 31 games while Foerster has posted career highs with 10 goals and 11 assists in 52 games. The Flyers take on the Devils in the Stadium Series at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford on Saturday night.

Tyson Foerster Doubtful For Monday's Game

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  • Flyers forward Tyson Foerster is doubtful for Monday’s game against the Coyotes with an undisclosed injury, head coach John Tortorella said (via The Athletic’s Kevin Kurz). Foerster, 22, was absent from this morning’s practice. The rookie has played in 52 consecutive games after being scratched for the season opener, recording ten goals and 21 points while averaging nearly 17 minutes per game and cementing himself in the team’s top nine. Their 2020 first-round pick has also controlled possession well with a 53.7% Corsi share at even strength, third on the team behind Sean Couturier and Travis Konecny.

Rasmus Ristolainen Returns From Illness

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  • Rasmus Ristolainen will be back in the lineup tonight for the Philadelphia Flyers after missing the team’s last game due to illness (X Link). Struggling to live up to his relatively large contract in Philadelphia, Ristolainen has only skated in 30 games for the Flyers this season, missing much of the beginning of the season with an undisclosed injury. Averaging the lowest time on ice of his career up to this point, Ristolainen has scored one goal and four points for Philadelphia this year.

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Afternoon Notes: Walker, Tarasenko, Rempal

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The Philadelphia Flyers are seeking a first-round pick for defenseman Sean Walker, per Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli. Walker has been a trade candidate for much of the season, though not much has come out about what his asking price may be. The Flyers acquired Walker this summer as part of a three-team trade with the Columbus Blue Jackets and Los Angeles Kings. Philadelphia also acquired Calvin Petersen, Helge Grans, and three draft picks in the deal.

This season is Walker’s first away from the Kings and he’s made the most out of the change in scenery, with 18 points in 51 games this season already surpassing his point totals in each of the last three seasons. He is on an 82-game pace of 28 points, a mark that would break his previous career-high by four points. He’s spent much of the season on Philadelphia’s second pairing alongside Nick Seeler. But Philadelphia’s recent acquisition of Jamie Drysdale has put pressure on Walker’s top-four role. It seems the team is leaning into that shift, now testing the 29-year-old Walker’s value on the open market.

Other notes from around the league:

  • Ottawa Senators winger Vladimir Tarasenko has changed his agent again, now represented by Craig Oster of Newsport Sports. Newsport represents six other Senators, including Brady Tkachuk and Joshua Norris. This is the second time Tarasenko has changed agents in the last seven months, with his last change coming just before signing a one-year, $5MM contract with Ottawa. Tarasenko, 32, has been mentioned as a possible rental option with the trade deadline approaching. He has 13 goals and 33 points through 45 games this season while playing on Ottawa’s third line.
  • The Vegas Golden Knights have sent forward Sheldon Rempal back to the minor leagues. The 28-year-old was recalled on February 5th, serving as a healthy scratch for the team’s Sunday win over the Edmonton Oilers. Rempal played four NHL games earlier in the season, scoring two goals and recording one penalty. He’s also scored 20 goals and 31 points in 41 AHL games this season, leading the Henderson Silver Knights in goals.

Philadelphia Flyers Activate Owen Tippett Off Injured Reserve

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Spending two weeks on the team’s injured reserve with a lower-body injury, Owen Tippett will be back in the lineup tonight for the Philadelphia Flyers as the team announced they had activated him from the injured reserve. The news of his return also comes 11 days after Tippett signed an eight-year, $49.6MM extension in Philadelphia that will run through the 2031-32 NHL season.

Returning to the lineup tonight, it will be the first time playing his former team, the Florida Panthers, as a visiting player. Before his trade to the City of Brotherly Love during the 2021-22 season, Tippett played in 94 games for the Panthers spread out over three seasons, scoring 14 goals and 33 points altogether.

Now in a more elevated role with the Flyers, Tippett surpassed his totals in Florida relatively quickly in Philadelphia, scoring 27 goals and 49 points over 77 games last season. In a similarly productive season this year, Tippett has played in 46 games for the Flyers up to this point, scoring 18 goals and 30 points.

On a rather interesting note, even though Tippett is producing slightly better this season than last, he has lost nearly two minutes in average time on the ice as compared to last year. In a 10-game stretch from November 4th to November 25th, Tippett scored five goals and eight points but only played about 14 and a half minutes of those games on average. However, in his most recent 10-game stretch, head coach John Tortorella has seemingly extended his leash, playing Tippett nearly 18 minutes a night on average.

Nevertheless, while taking his recent playing time as well as the contract extension into consideration, it goes without saying that the Flyers view Tippett as being a long-term fixture in their forward core. Even though he has not scored 30 goals yet in a singular season, Tippett is well on his way to becoming one of the select few players who can average the mark over several years.

Hockey Canada Issues Updates On 2018 Investigation

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Earlier today, after the London Police Service held a press conference regarding the investigation into several players of the 2018 U20 Team Canada roster, Hockey Canada released several updates of their own. The major takeaway from the report is that all members of the 2018 U20 Team Canada roster remain suspended from Hockey Canada-sanctioned events, pending an appeal process started in 2023.

For this specifically, Hockey Canada is investigating whether or not any team members breached the organization’s code of conduct and what sanctions should be imposed on the individual players. With respect to the investigation and the legal process, Hockey Canada was unable to comment further and did not give a clear timeline as to when the appeals process may reach its conclusion.

Depending on the timeline, this will bar all players from the 2018 U20 Team Canada roster from playing in any international events, except the “4 Nations Face-Off” in 2025, as it is an NHL-sanctioned event. Without getting into the specifics, the President and Chief Executive Officer of Hockey Canada, Katherine Henderson was quoted as saying:

“Hockey Canada recognizes that in the past we have been too slow to act and that in order to deliver the meaningful change that Canadians expect of us, we must work diligently and urgently to ensure that we are putting in place the necessary measures to regain their trust, and provide all participants with a safe, welcoming and inclusive environment on and off the ice”.

Outside of Hockey Canada, TSN’s Darren Dreger reports that the Calgary Flames, New Jersey Devils, and Philadelphia Flyers will receive cap relief for players currently on leave who have been charged in the 2018 Team Canada legal proceedings. Without specifying how much cap relief the teams would receive, it is reasonable to assume that the full dollar amount of each player’s contract will now be taken off the books for the foreseeable future, meaning $2.3MM, $2.2MM, and $3.98MM, respectively.

Salary Cap Deep Dive: Philadelphia Flyers

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Navigating the salary cap is one of the more important tasks for any GM.  Teams that can avoid total cap chaos by walking the tightrope of inking players to deals that match their value (or compensate for future value without breaking the bank) remain successful.  Those that don’t see struggles and front office changes.

PHR will look at every NHL team and give a thorough look at their cap situation for the 2023-24 season.  This will focus more on players who are regulars on the roster versus those who may find themselves shuttling between the AHL and NHL.  All cap figures are courtesy of CapFriendly.

Philadelphia Flyers

Current Cap Hit: $83,322,620 (under the $83.5MM Upper Limit)

Entry-Level Contracts

G Samuel Ersson ($859K this season)
F Tyson Foerster (two years, $863K)

Potential Bonuses
Ersson $32.5K

Foerster impressed in limited action last season and has become a full-time regular this year.  That said, he’s more of a secondary player at this point which likely has him heading for a short-term second contract, especially with the limited action as a rookie.  If he finds another gear offensively next season and pushes into the 40-point-pace range, he could surpass the $2MM mark on that agreement.

Ersson has already signed his second contract so we’ll look at that in more detail shortly but it’s worth noting his bonuses are based on games played.  The exact number needed isn’t known but the lower end of a games played bonus is usually around 20.  If that’s the case here, he has already reached it.

Signed Through 2023-24, Non-Entry-Level

G Carter Hart ($3.979MM, RFA)
D Nick Seeler ($775K, UFA)
D Marc Staal ($1.1MM, UFA)
D Sean Walker ($2.65MM, UFA)
D Yegor Zamula ($775K, RFA)

Walker was picked up from the Kings in the summer with his inclusion appearing to primarily be for cap purposes.  However, the 29-year-old has rebuilt his value nicely, spending a lot of time on the second pairing.  Now, instead of a likely pay cut had this season gone like last year, Walker is set up to potentially land a small raise on a multi-year agreement.  In the meantime, he is a speculative trade candidate as is Seeler.  Seeler has become a regular with the Flyers over the last year and a half after being a player on the fringes of the roster.  His playing time is still somewhat limited as he’s a full-time part of the third pairing.  Philadelphia is believed to be interested in an extension, one that should push into the $1.25MM to the $1.5MM range.

Staal signed with the Flyers early in free agency to give them a bridge veteran, allowing them to keep some of their youngsters in AHL Lehigh Valley a little longer.  He has missed time with injuries and has been scratched at times as well.  Accordingly, while it’s possible he lands another deal to fill that type of role, it’s likely to come in closer to the league minimum.  As for Zamula, he hasn’t been in the lineup every night but he has more than held his own and is even seeing time on the second power play unit at times.  Doubling his current AAV on a two-year bridge deal could be achievable for the 23-year-old.

Hart had been performing at a level similar to last season which had him on track to be qualified at just under $4.5MM.  However, his leave of absence pertaining to the sexual assault charge as part of the 2018 investigation into Canada’s World Junior team now has that outcome looking doubtful.  Now, a non-tender looks likely.

Signed Through 2024-25

F Cam Atkinson ($5.85MM, UFA)
F Morgan Frost ($2.1MM, RFA)
F Noah Cates ($2.65MM, RFA)
F Garnet Hathaway ($2.375MM, UFA)
F Travis Konecny ($5.5MM, UFA)
G Cal Petersen ($5MM, UFA)
D Cam York ($1.6MM, RFA)

After missing all of last season due to a herniated disk in his neck, Atkinson has been healthy all season long and is producing at close to a 50-point pace.  That’s on the high side for this price tag but that was likely expected when he signed this deal back with Columbus in 2017.  His next contract should check in closer to the $4MM mark if he can stay at that pace for another year and a half.

Konecny’s future with the Flyers has been speculated about for a while.  First, he looked like a long-term core piece but then when he took a step back in 2020-21 and then followed it up with just 16 goals the following year, some questioned if he was going to be part of those plans much longer.  Since then, he has authored a year and a half of top-line production and now, the idea of an extension is very much on the table.  If it happens, Philadelphia will be paying him off two career platform years which certainly will carry some risk while likely upping the price tag close to the $8MM mark.  But after leading the team in scoring last season and for most of this year, there’s a strong case to make to keep him around.

Cates has had a year to forget.  A broken foot kept him out for the better part of two months and in between, he has struggled mightily, sitting on just one goal in 28 games.  This AAV will be his qualifying offer in 2025 and he’ll have arbitration rights again at that time.  There’s plenty of time to turn his fortunes around but at this point, a non-tender could be on the table if his struggles continue.

Hathaway signed a surprisingly high contract for someone who is best deployed on the fourth line but the Flyers put extra value in trying to fill his particular role.  It would be surprising to see another raise coming but in a more favorable cap environment, it’s not out of the realm of possibility either.  Frost had a breakout year last season, earning a nice bridge deal for his troubles but he has struggled somewhat this season while John Tortorella has scratched him frequently, leading to trade speculation.  At this point, a one-year deal after this one that basically works as a second bridge might be the most likely outcome; that contract would check in a bit higher than his $2.4MM qualifying offer if his production stays in its current range.

York is also on his bridge contract and while the offensive potential he showed in the US National Team Development Program and in college hasn’t quite translated to big point totals yet, he’s logging heavy minutes.  That alone could help him double this price tag in 2025 and if the production comes, the cost of a long-term agreement will go up quite quickly.

Petersen was acquired as salary ballast in the Ivan Provorov three-way trade last summer and has spent most of the last year and a half in the minors.  With Hart’s absence, that should change but his struggles in his limited NHL action make this a steep overpayment.  If this continues, he’ll be closer to the $1MM territory as a free agent.

Signed Through 2025-26

F Nicolas Deslauriers ($1.75MM, UFA)
G Samuel Ersson ($1.4MM in 2024-25 and 2025-26, RFA)
D Jamie Drysdale ($2.3MM, RFA)
F Scott Laughton ($3MM, UFA)
F Ryan Poehling ($1.4MM this season, $1.9MM in 2024-25 and 2025-26, UFA)

Laughton has shown he can play in the top six but is likely best utilized as a third-line middleman.  This price tag is certainly quite fair for that role which is why teams are starting to call about his potential availability.  With a 43-point season under his belt, there’s room for his price tag to grow if he’s able to produce near that level with any type of consistency; doing so could push him into the $4MM range.

Deslauriers is another player they willingly gave more than market value to in order to have their desired grit on the fourth line.  While he has had some success offensively in the past, he is starting to slow down on that front.  Another contract is definitely achievable (even at 35 which he’ll be when this deal ends) but it should come in closer to the minimum next time.  Poehling has held his own in a bottom-six role and inked his new deal recently, a nice outcome for someone who was non-tendered last summer.  He’ll need to become more productive to have a chance at getting third center money.

Drysdale was acquired less than a month ago and has fit in nicely so far.  Injuries have limited him significantly the last two seasons which hasn’t helped to firm up where his expected long-term deal after this one will land.  If he lives up to his upside and stays healthy, he should become Philadelphia’s top-paid blueliner.  But if the injury trouble continues, that will certainly scale that price tag down.

Ersson impressed down the stretch last year, landing this extension before the 2023-24 campaign started.  It’s a move that looks better now as he had pushed his way into more playing time early on and is now their likely starter the rest of the way.  He’ll have that time to show if he’s a legitimate number one or more of a backup with the range of outcomes money-wise stretching past a few million per season depending on how he plays.

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Maple Leafs And Oilers Have Discussed Sean Walker With Flyers

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  • The Maple Leafs and Oilers are among the teams that have spoken to the Flyers about defenseman Sean Walker, The Fourth Period’s David Pagnotta reported in a recent appearance on the NHL Network (video link). The 29-year-old right-shot rearguard is having a bounce-back season, recording 17 points in 50 games so far while averaging nearly 20 minutes a night while being on an expiring $2.65MM deal.  With a limited supply of quality righties available, Pagnotta notes that Philadelphia has placed a first-round pick as the price tag for Walker’s services although they may have to lower that to get a trade done.

Philadelphia Flyers Gauging Trade Interest In Scott Laughton

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The Philadelphia Flyers are reportedly gauging interest in centerman Scott Laughton on the trade market, per TSN’s Darren Dreger. Dreger shares that, while Philadelphia would be hesitant to move Laughton, they’re willing to hear offers with the market for centerman now largely dried up. Only three centermen remain in TSN’s Trade Bait series – Adam Henrique, Sean Monahan, and Jack Roslovic – after Elias Lindholm was moved to the Vancouver Canucks.

Teams were reportedly offering late first-round picks for Laughton last summer, though Philadelphia preferred to hang onto the depth centerman. The team drafted Laughton 20th overall in the 2012 NHL Draft and awarded him his NHL debut in the very next season. He’s played in every season since, totaling 569 games and 219 points across 11 years with the Flyers, establishing himself as a focal piece of the team’s bottom-six forwards and penalty-killing units. He has even earned a power-play role over the last few seasons, helping him reach a career-high 43 points in 78 games last season. That scoring production hasn’t continued into this year – with Laughton boasting just 20 points through 50 games, his lowest point-per-game pace since the 2020-21 season.

Still, a bottom-of-the-lineup centerman who can play on both special teams carries undeniable value. Laughton’s contract makes him even more valuable, with the 29-year-old sitting at a $3MM cap hit over the next three seasons – the second-cheapest among any centermen on TSN’s trade board and the only one with a contract beyond this season. A first-round pick is likely the starting bid in any Laughton trade discussions, though it may take a lot more to get Philadelphia to part with the 500-game veteran of the club.

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