The Philadelphia Flyers have missed the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the fifth consecutive season. They fired coach John Tortorella with only nine games left in the season, indicating a summer of change is on the way. But before the playoffs even turn a week old, there is injury news from Philly. The Flyers announced Thursday that Rasmus Ristolainen will be out for six months with a triceps injury.

“Injury update: Defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen underwent successful surgery on his right triceps tendon rupture on March 26. He is expected to miss 2025 training camp and be out about six months. He is expected to make a full recovery,” the team announced.

A six-month timeline puts his return in late September, based on the surgery date of March 26. That would be enough time to ramp up for the beginning of the season, which is usually in mid-October. The Flyers should get Ristolainen back for the first game of the season, but this may have thrown a wrench into their plans.

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The Flyers should be making trades this offseason to remove veteran players from their cap sheet. Ristolainen had his best season since joining the team, but they should be headed into a rebuild this offseason. He would have been a prime trade candidate, but this injury takes away that opportunity.

If Ristolainen does miss time in the regular season, Cam York and Travis Sanheim would have to step up. The Flyers had the worst goaltending in the league in each of the last two seasons. This defensive core has not made their job any easier over the last two years. Without Ristolainen, their job gets even harder.

The Flyers can still make big trades this offseason and could trade Ristolainen at the deadline. But this Ristolainen news puts a serious damper on the Flyers' offseason.