Flyers’ Rasmus Ristolainen Out Two Weeks

The Philadelphia Flyers have announced that defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen, who missed Monday’s practice, will sit out for the next two weeks to recover from an upper-body injury. Ristolainen made his return from a nine-game absence due to a left-hand injury in Saturday’s loss to the Anaheim Ducks. He is believed to have re-aggravated that injury per Sportsnet.

Ristolainen has appeared in just four games this season. He scored a goal in the second game of the season but has otherwise totaled just seven shot blocks, seven hits, and a minus-one.

Ristolainen missed 38 games of the 2025-26 season with a string of injuries. He sustained an injury to his triceps in March 2025 that required surgery in April. That procedure delayed the start of his 2025-26 season until December. He was placed back on injured reserve one month later with an upper-body injury, then missed a few more days with a lower-body injury later in the year. Around those absences, Ristolainen totaled 14 points in 44 games.

In total, Ristolainen has missed 141 of Philadelphia’s 423 games over the last six seasons. His health has become a consistent concern, knocking a once productive offensive-defenseman off-course. Ristolainen, who recorded four consecutive 40-point seasons in Buffalo from 2015 to 2019, has peaked at just 20 points in the Flyers lineup. When healthy, he has averaged 20 minutes a night in Philadelphia’s lineup – but routine absences have loosened his spot in the Flyers’ top-four.

With Ristolainen set to miss even more time, Philadelphia will return to their rotation of blue-liners in the extra defender role. David Jiricek has stepped into the lineup for nine games but has just one assist and a minus-three to show for it. The Flyers have also tapped Simon Benoit and Helge Grans through the season. While a few options jockey for the sixth-defender role, Ristolainen’s absence will further seal Oliver Bonk’s spot in Philadelphia’s top-four. Bonk has scored four assists in seven games this season, while carving out a role on the top-pair and power-play. The rookie should continue to be leaned on for offensive production while Ristolainen is on the sidelines.