Ristolaien was on the ice for Sunday's practice but will remain out of the lineup on Monday. Nick Seeler will play in Ristolainen's spot again. Consider Ristolainen day-to-day and expect him to make his debut later this week.
Ristolainen was acquired from the Sabres this offseason but his Flyers debut will have to wait, as he's sidelined by an upper-body injury. With Ristolainen sidelined, Nick Seeler will skate on the third pairing next to Keith Yandle.
Avon joined the Flyers on an Amateur Try-Out but signed a three-year entry-level contract. The 18-year-old, undrafted free agent scored four goals with seven assists in 56 games with the Peterborough Petes (OHL) in 2019-20.
Ristolainen's game appears to be heading in the wrong direction but the Flyers must not think so. They have given up a considerable amount of assets to have Ristolainen replace Shayne Gostisbehere in 2021-22. After four-straight seasons of 40-plus points from 2016-to-2019, Ristolainen has averaged seven goals and 29 assists (36 points) per 82 games over the last two years. He remains big and tough to play against and will undoubtedly be a part of the Flyers top-4 with either Ivan Provorov or Travis Sanheim.
Ellis is heading into the third year of an eight-year contract that pays him $6.25M AAV per season. Ellis was 22nd among defensemen in points with 79 (15G / 64A) in 2019 and 2020 combined but his production fell off a bit in 2021. Still, the 30-year-old is a massive addition to the Flyers blueline and could find himself on the top pair with Ivan Provorov in 2022.