Flyers activate Tippett, Ristolainen, place JVR on IR
Published
The Philadelphia Flyers activated forward Owen Tippett and defenceman Rasmus Ristolainen from injured reserve, while forward James van Riemsdyk was placed on injured reserve on Thursday.
Tippett, 23, appeared in the Flyers' season opening 5-3 victory over the New Jersey Devils on Oct. 13 but missed the next five games due to an upper-body injury.
Tippett has not registered any points this season, but had 10 goals and 11 assists in 63 games split between the Florida Panthers and Flyers in 2021-22.
Ristolainen, 27, sustained a lower-body injury during training camp which has sidelined him for the first six games of the 2022-23 season.
The 6-foot-4 defenceman had two goals and 16 points in 66 games last season.
Van Riemsdyk, 33, took a puck off his hand during a 3-0 loss to the San Jose Sharks on Sunday and will have finger surgery on Friday.
Head coach John Tortorella said earlier this week the surgery is not expected to be season ending, though the team does not have a timeline for his return as of yet.
Flyers beat writer Bill Meltzer reported that van Riemsdyk will miss approximately one month.
Van Riemsdyk has two goals and five points in six games this season, his fifth since rejoining the Flyers as a free agent in 2018. He had 24 goals and 38 points in 82 games last season.
A pending unrestricted free agent, van Riemsdyk carries a $7 million cap hit in the last year of his current deal.
The Middletown, NJ native has 290 goals and 567 points in 885 career games with the Flyers and Toronto Maple Leafs. He was selected second overall by the Flyers in the 2007 NHL Draft.
Couturier remains sidelined
The Flyers also said Thursday they have decided to halt forward Sean Couturier's return to the ice.
Couturier, 29, has been suffering from a back injury that had him listed as being out week-to-week since training camp. The 6-foot-3 centre had been skating since the beginning of October and recently told reporters that his back was feeling good.
However, Tortorella told reporters that Couturier is not ready to be skating right now.
The product of Phoenix, Ariz. only appeared in 29 games with the Flyers last season due to the same injury and recorded six goals and 17 points.
The team also said forward Cam Atkinson has gone from day-to-day to out indefinitely with an upper-body injury.
Atkinson, 33, has yet to play this season. He registered 23 goals and 27 assists in 73 games for the Flyers in 2021-22.