Rasmus Ristolainen would have preferred a much better start to his tenure with the Philadelphia Flyers.
It began as terribly as ever, but Ristolainen has since turned the corner with John Tortorella and Brad Shaw at the helm. After an injury-ravaged 2023-24, the hulking Finnish defenseman can prove to be a big factor in the Flyers getting off to another great start, health permitting.
Not only did the Flyers exhaust a first-round pick for the services of the soon-to-be expiring defenseman in 2021, but they also threw in a second-round pick and a roster player in Robert Hägg to ensure they won a bidding war on draft night. Then-general manager, Chuck Fletcher, was looking to make radical changes to the club after they turned in a disastrous COVID-shortened 2020-21 campaign that saw several key players butt heads with then-head coach, Alain Vigneault.
Ristolainen was essentially on his way out of Buffalo to begin with after the former first round pick quickly fell out of favour for the hapless Sabres. He recorded 4 consecutive 40-point seasons between 2015-16 and 2018-19 and was close to nabbing a 5th had the season not been interrupted by COVID-19.
However, when he returned to the ice in 2020-21, he had lost considerable amount of favour to Rasmus Dahlin and Brandon Montour who played higher up in the lineup by the end of 2021. Ristolainen had just 18 points in 49 games, was -18, and saw his ATOI drop to about 22 minutes a night compared to the 25-26 he received on a regular basis. His play had deteriorated almost overnight, he became a human highlight reel – not the good kind – and Buffalo was running out of answers for their once-highly-touted defenseman.
Despite his struggles, the skillset that he brought to the table was enough for rival general managers to be frothing at the mouth on draft day. Several teams believed they could turn his game around and were willing to spend the extra capital on the reclamation project. Reportedly, the Flyers offered the deal with the best first-round pick – 13th overall – and Fletcher got his guy during a summer of exotic adventures that also included the acquisitions of Ryan Ellis and Cam Atkinson with Nolan Patrick, Phil Myers, Shayne Gostisbehere, and Jakub Voráček on their way out.
Coming into his first season with the Flyers, Ristolainen was always going to be under the microscope considering the cost of acquisition, his abysmal play leading up to the trade, and the club placing him directly into top-4 situations.
So, as one would imagine, it was a nightmarish start as he scored just 2 goals and 16 points in 66 games, missed the start of the season, and saw his ATOI drop once again to 19:01. He looked like a deer in the headlights most nights, was unable to find chemistry with Travis Sanheim which in turn hurt his game, and he looked like a player without an identity or a role. The pressures of playing under the microscope and in a hotbed market like Philadelphia looked to have overtaken him most nights, but that wasn’t enough to deter Fletcher from extending him before the trade deadline. It was a slightly puzzling move, all things considered, but Fletcher extended Ristolainen to a 5-year deal worth $5.1 million, much to the chagrin of the fanbase.
So, with Ristolainen under contract for 5 more seasons, he was going to be a mainstay for the foreseeable future. Fortunately what ended up changing his fortunes was the firing of Vigneault and the subsequent hiring of Tortorella. Ristolainen was one the many beneficiaries of the coaching change and has become a steady force – when healthy – ever since. While he has missed a handful of games every season, Ristolainen truly turned a corner in 2022-23 under Tortorella and Shaw’s tutelage and with his return to the lineup imminent to begin the 2024-25 campaign, he can afford the Flyers with some much needed stability at a position of need.
The problem surrounding Ristolainen is that he can’t and won’t be able to escape the biases sometimes tied to his name. People remember the trade, his deteriorating play at the end of his tenure in Buffalo, his topsy-turvy start in Philadelphia, and then the 5-year extension that Fletcher handed him. What is sometimes forgotten is how he’s changed roles, fine-tuned his game, and has become a much better version of himself in the last few seasons.
He won’t ever return to the 40+ point producer he was with Buffalo between his age 21 and 24 seasons – primarily due to lack of power play time – but he can fortify himself as a solid defensive defenseman with 25-30 point upside. Even by analytical metrics, 2023-24 was a big turnaround year, as he posted a 50.0 CF% in all situations compared to the 41.9 in 2022-23, 43.7 in 2021-22, and 41.6 in 2020-21. Granted, he only played in 31 games, but he was well on track of posting career-bests since 2017-18.
His FF% was at 53.7% compared to 44.4 in 2022-23, 44.7 in 2021-22, and 40.1 in 2020-21. He also delivered 392 hits and blocked 267 shots in his first 2 seasons in 140 games played and had 56 hits and 45 blocks in 31 games last year. His ice-time dropped even more to 16:41 but I think that’s the key in unlocking his better potential.
Ristolainen doesn’t need to play 24-25 minutes a night anymore. He doesn’t even need to play 20 minutes a game. A comfortable range will be between 16-18 minutes and while it’s not the best-case scenario for a player making over $5 million a season, situationally it’s a boon for the club. Ristolainen can also shift completely towards a more defensive game with Sanheim, Cam York, and Jamie Drysdale eating most of the minutes and offensive workload.
Nick Seeler is another example of a player that found himself under the new system and after the last 2 seasons – that included a 4-year extension – he has essentially stapled himself as the 4th defenseman on the depth chart. However, beyond the top pairing that is Sanheim and York, the Flyers can alternate on most nights when it comes to the 2nd and 3rd pairings.
Blocking shots, finishing checks, and killing penalties will be the main specialities for Ristolainen heading into the 2024-25 season. He’s an above-average puck-handler for his size and he has the vision to make offensive plays considering his junior seasons and early years in Buffalo, but Tortorella and company need a more defensive-minded player to help with the likes of Drysdale or Egor Zamula – depending on his partner.
We’re not saying Ristolainen will be a world-beater in 2024-25, but he will surprise a lot of people with his game-play. However, the only thing keeping that from being a reality is his durability as he has missed a handful of games in each season since being acquired.
He has not made an Opening Night debut as of yet, but he is healthy and playing in preseason games at this moment, so we should once again see #55 on the ice in short order. He scored a goal in their overtime victory over the weekend against the Boston Bruins and also delivered a patented Ristolainen hit on Matthew Poitras.
He also scored a power play goal on Monday night against the New York Islanders.
After a stellar start to his training camp, Tortorella didn’t mince his words regarding his defenseman as he has been nothing short of impressed with his performances so far.
the soon-to-be 30-year-old will look to ingratiate himself back into the lineup once the season commences and continue to improve off of his 2023-24 turnaround campaign.
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