The Philadelphia Flyers’ season is done but one defenseman is going under the knife to fix an ongoing issue.
On Thursday, the team announced that defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen underwent surgery to mend a ruptured triceps tendon. The recovery period is expected to be three months and the team stated that when the Flyers’ training camp in September begins, Ristolainen should be ready to go.
Ristolainen had a very trying 2023-24 season, playing in just 31 games over the season, his lowest amount of games since his first season with the Buffalo Sabres back in 2013-14. Ristolainen, 29, had a goal and three assists for four points. The defenseman missed a chunk at the start of the regular season and made his season debut Nov. 25 against the New York Islanders. Ristolainen’s last appearance was Feb. 10 against the Seattle Kraken (thanks ESPN). He was placed on Injured Reserve to start the season and on Nov. 3 was placed on the Long-Term Injured Reserve list. On Nov. 25 he was reactivated but placed back on Injured Reserve on Feb. 26.
According to a statement from the team the surgery was performed at the TMI (Texas Metroplex Institute) Sports Medicine Institute in Arlington, Texas. Dr. Keith Meister, who is the head orthopedic surgeon for MLB’s Texas Rangers, performed the procedure. According to a 2023 Texas Monthly article, the Rangers’ senior director of medical operations, Jamie Reed, said Meister is “probably considered one of the top one or two elbow surgeons in the country.” So seemingly Ristolainen was in very good hands.
There was speculation the Flyers would’ve been open to trading Ristolainen given he has three years remaining on his contract with a $5.1-million cap hit. The one upside to the contract is Ristolainen has no clout in terms of a No-Trade Clause or No-Movement Clause, so there are no teams off the possible transaction radar. As well with the acquisition of Jamie Drysdale this season from Anaheim, the appearances of Adam Ginning and Ronnie Attard in the latter part of the year as well as Oliver Bonk in the pipeline a change of scenery is possible.
He might not be the only Flyer blueliner going under the knife this offseason. Although he didn’t confirm it, Drysdale hinted during the exit interviews on Thursday there might be a chance he undergoes a procedure in the offseason.
