Since the Chuck Fletcher era trade that brought Rasmus Ristolainen to Philadelphia, the burly Finnish defenseman has been a reclamation project for John Tortorella and company. He’s been a pretty polarizing player since he arrived here, with analytics-forward fans frustrated by the trade for a player with awful advanced metrics in Buffalo, and a group of old hockey men absolutely gushing over Ristolainen’s heavy style of play. Really, though, Ristolainen’s time in Philadelphia has been somewhere in the middle – and to the organization’s credit, they’ve gotten the absolute most out of Ristolainen. The main problem? Ristolainen has caught a case of the injury bug, despite rehabilitating his on-ice play to a solid result.
2023-24 Player Review: Another year without Playoff Risto
