Despite a bevy of trade rumors circling him, Rasmus Ristolainen will play and start for the Philadelphia Flyers against the Utah Mammoth on Thursday night.
Ristolainen, 32, is paired up with Travis Sanheim on defense and will not sit out Thursday's contest in preparation or anticipation of any kind of trade.
Defenseman Adam Ginning, who was recently called up by the Flyers, is listed as a scratch against Utah.
Previously, Scott Laughton played the day before the Flyers traded him to the Toronto Maple Leafs, and prior to that, Joel Farabee and Morgan Frost played the same night they were dealt to the Calgary Flames.
After the Buffalo Sabres missed out on St. Louis Blues defenseman Colton Parayko, who exercised his no-trade clause to block a move, they could logically pivot to an old friend in Ristolainen as their next trade target.
Players like Connor Murphy, Tyler Myers, Nick Blankenburg, and MacKenzie Weegar have already addressed right-shot defense needs for contenders like Edmonton, Dallas, Utah, and Colorado, so the Ristolainen trade market is rapidly thinning.
Boston and Detroit are believed to be seeking right-shot defenders as well.
Ristolainen and the Flyers are aiming to win their fourth-straight contest.