Flyers’ Ristolainen, Bonk out for at least 5 more weeks, according to report
The Philadelphia Flyers blue line is still incomplete to start the season and it looks like it will remain that way for quite some time.
According to The Athletic’s Kevin Kurz, both defensemen Rasmus Ristolainen and Oliver Bonk are approximately five to six weeks away from being back in game action. Kurz also adds that that is the timeline as long as there are no setbacks to either blueliner’s recovery.
Ristolainen has not played for the Flyers since he suffered a season-ending triceps rupture in March of last season. He subsequently underwent an operation to repair said injury but has been slowly making his way back to full health — emphasis on slowly. Back in the middle of September before Flyers training camp, general manager Danny Briere told the media that the 30-year-old defenseman is expected to re-join the team within the first six to eight weeks of the season.
That timeline is largely staying in-tact. The eighth week of this season is the week of November 24 and well, since we are just a couple weeks into the NHL season and we’re halfway decent and doing some elementary school math, that is five weeks from now. Kurz’s report of five to six weeks until we see Ristolainen back in the Orange and Black is basically exactly what Briere told us already.
While it would be fantastic to see Ristolainen truly solidify a Flyers blue line that has had to lean on the top two pairings to do almost everything, the more interesting information is just how long prospect Oliver Bonk is expected to still be out for.
Oliver Bonk’s delayed AHL rookie season is unfortunate
This was going to be a massive season for Bonk. The 20-year-old defenseman just wrapped up his junior career by winning the Memorial Cup with the London Knights on a team that many will claim as one of the best CHL teams of this decade. He was heading down to the AHL’s Lehigh Valley Phantoms to start his professional career and possibly give some fans enough hope that there’s another very talented young defenseman coming to supplement this blue line further.
But that’s all put on hold. Bonk suffered an upper-body injury early in rookie camp over a month ago and has essentially disappeared since. He missed all of training camp despite being listed just day-to-day, wasn’t able to start the AHL season, and it is only just now that we’re first hearing just how long he could be out for.
To potentially start a crucial campaign sometime in December, and only have a few months to really get your rookie AHL season under your belt, is not the right footing you want. Right now, down in the AHL, it looks like Helge Grans is getting top-pairing minutes next to Emil Andrae, and the rest of the blue line is made up of defensemen such as Dennis Gilbert, Hunter McDonald, and Ty Murchison, as Ethan Samson is also dealing with an injury. Bonk would have waltzed down to Allentown and taken up prime real estate on the blue line, easily claiming that he is the defender with the highest ceiling and one of the key rookies on that team.
And it is unfortunate. The Phantoms are a very good time right now. Despite a 3-2-0-0 record, Lehigh Valley is packed full of young and exciting talent like Alex Bump, Devin Kaplan, Karsen Dorwart, Alexis Gendron, and of course Bonk’s London teammate Denver Barkey. And that’s just the young players and not including veteran scorers like Carl Grundstrom and Anthony Richard in the lineup. It’s a team that is certainly worth paying attention to and Bonk could have been a part of that to start his year.
Now, the 20-year-old from Ottawa will have to slowly make his way back and join a team and league full of players really hitting their stride and at the peak of game fitness. It will be interesting to watch how it unfolds, but again, unfortunate that we’re going to have to wait at least five more weeks for that to happen.
Browns Out on Trade Talks for $32 Million Wide Receiver: Report
The Cleveland Browns make sense as sellers ahead of the NFL trade deadline, but reports coming from one insider indicate they prefer to buy.
Cleveland (2-5) could use a true No. 1 wide receiver given how stagnant the offense has been, both with Joe Flacco and now rookie Dillon Gabriel as the starting quarterbacks. After a career year, wideout Jerry Jeudy has taken a major step back, and Brad Gagnon of Bleacher Report on Friday referred to the receiver as the Browns’ “most disappointing player” to this point in the season.
“The 2024 Pro Bowler has yet to score a touchdown in seven games and is on pace for just 624 yards,” Gagnon wrote. “That would mark the worst healthy season of the 26-year-old’s career.”
One trade target a couple of Cleveland-based radio hosts floated is New York Jets star wideout Garrett Wilson. However, Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com shut down those reports/rumors on Saturday while reporting that the Browns do, in fact, want to add ahead of the November 4 deadline.
“It won’t be Jets receiver Garrett Wilson, because the Jets undoubtedly won’t part with him after they just signed him to a four-year extension in July worth $130 million, including $90 million guaranteed,” Cabot wrote. “Despite rumors on social media, the Browns haven’t given it any thought, in part because they know the Jets wouldn’t consider it, even though they’re 0-7. In fact, they probably won’t add another starting-caliber receiver until the offseason, via the draft, a trade or free agency.”
Wilson, 25, has earned $32 million total through the first four years of his NFL career.
Browns Tied to Garrett Wilson Interest by Cleveland Radio Personalities
GettyNew York Jets wide receiver Garrett Wilson.
It wasn’t just social media stirring the pot with regards to a Wilson/Browns trade, but also the “The Tony Rizzo Show” on ESPN Cleveland.
Rizzo and his guest host “Chopz” said on October 22 that they heard Cleveland’s front office was looking into Wilson’s availability.
“There’s a lot of wide receiver chatter out there with the Browns, and [general manager Andrew Berry] is sniffing around,” Chopz said. “Garrett Wilson’s name is popping up right now. … That seems like such an Andrew Berry move, because Garrett Wilson seems to be on the outs in New York because they have a new regime.”
Browns Likely to Consider Less Splashy Trade Targets Than Garrett Wilson, Particularly Considering QB Situation
GettyCleveland Browns quarterback Shedeur Sanders.
Wilson would represent a monster swing at this juncture in the Browns’ roster reconstruction, with rookie QBs in Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders likely to start for the remainder of the season.
Should neither of them set himself apart, Cleveland may use its first-round draft pick to pursue a signal-caller in a solid class of rookie QBs headed to the league in 2026.
But there is something to be said for procuring an elite No. 1 option to help whatever young player ends up becoming the Browns’ next franchise quarterback, particularly if that player is in his mid-20s and under contract through 2030 like Wilson is.
However, Cabot said Saturday it is more likely that Berry and the Browns will look for potentially less flashy additions, albeit meaningful ones of a particular type.
“They would like to land another key player or two like they did cornerback Tyson Campbell in the trade for Greg Newsome II two weeks ago,” Cabot wrote. “If the Browns can find another player or two in his prime that can help them over multiple years, they’ll try to close a deal soon.”
