You have to wonder if Rasmus Ristolainen will play again this season.
The defenseman is now considered week to week with his upper-body injury. With the Flyers out of the playoff race and just 12 games left after their 3-2 loss Thursday night to the Capitals, they have no reason to rush him back.
Erring on the side of caution will make even more sense for the Flyers considering they might want to give a few youngsters an audition before the season wraps up around mid-April.
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Ristolainen last played March 11. He had been considered day to day.
Prior to the injury, the 30-year-old had stayed healthy and was playing some of the best hockey of his career. Ristolainen had four goals, 15 assists and only 14 penalty minutes in 63 games while playing 20:31 minutes a night. Over his last 46 games, he recorded 16 points (three goals, 13 assists) and a plus-10 rating.
We'll see if he has a chance to add to his totals before the Flyers head into the offseason.
Danny Briere held onto Ristolainen at the March 7 trade deadline. The general manager wasn't shopping his big, right-handed defenseman, but with his club in a rebuild, he was willing to listen. The Flyers weren't offered the price they wanted.
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After this season, Ristolainen has two more years left on his five-year, $25.5 million contract.
"There are teams that have called to inquire, but Risto has been so good, too, for us," Briere said in January. "He's not a rental. For us, there's no rush to trade him. We finally have him healthy, we finally have him playing extremely well. To find a right-shot D like that, to play in your top four, to play as physical as he does, they're tough to find. We have him here for us, too."