Newly named captain of the Philadelphia Flyers Sean Couturier has been wearing the “C” on his jersey for 34 days. What should’ve been the start of a new era for the Flyers and Couturier has gone off the rails rather quickly. The team’s back is against the wall as their playoff spot hangs in jeopardy and entering a March 19 game against the Maple Leafs, there have been rumors that Couturier will be a healthy scratch after spending much of the last few weeks as a rather ineffective fourth line center.
Rewinding to the beginning of the season, Couturier surprised everybody when he not only returned to the lineup after missing the last two seasons with multiple back surgeries, but was regularly eclipsing the 20-minute mark from October until late January. He very much looked like the old Sean Couturier and didn’t miss a beat.
The fact Sean Couturier came back from two separate back surgeries that kept him on the shelf for 22 months is an incredible feat, and by hockey standards, pretty much makes him a unicorn. There have been very few examples of players returning from long absences, and practically zero have returned from repeated back problems.
But the good times have not lasted. Ever since early February, and ironically enough shortly after he was named captain, his play has fallen off a cliff, his ice time was cut and he took up residency on the fourth line.
“There’s no special answer I can give. He has to play better. I don’t care if it’s 10 minutes or 17, 18 minutes. Don’t care if it’s 7. You have to give me something to hang my hat on to keep on trying to earn more ice time. I’m coaching 20 guys. Not one.” -John Tortorella
Torts didn’t mince words when it came to Couturier’s limited role. Despite his new position as captain, Couturier’s being held to the same standards as the other players who are trapped in Tortorella’s doghouse.
Couturier clearly possesses the defensive talent where they can plop him in the bottom six and penalty kill for the remainder of his career and he would be above-average in the role. Ignore the fact he’s getting paid nearly $8 million a year to do so, but as long as his foot speed doesn’t slow to a catastrophic level, a depth defensive role is totally acceptable.
With hindsight being 20/20, they probably should’ve been a little less cavalier about tossing him back into the top six every night after missing the time he did. Maybe a permanent residency on the third line was the way to go from the beginning. Though forcing him up the lineup was one of the downfalls of the organization’s refusal to add a top six center at any point in recent memory.
Above the injuries, Couturier is also 31 years old now. He’s been a regular member on the Flyers’ roster since 2011, has 785 games of experience under his belt and played some of the most difficult and demanding minutes in the league from his rookie season to the day he left the lineup on December 18, 2021. Even pretending the back problems don’t exist, that’s still a workload that an aging player is going to start to feel and the decline is unavoidable regardless.
Hopefully Couturier can bounce back next season. Maybe a strategic approach to be far more careful with his deployment and a full summer to rest and plan and understand where his body is at could at least make him a regular middle-six contributor. But there’s also the possibility that this is just where Couturier is now. He’ll be captaining the team until 2030 from the fourth line… or maybe even the press box. The odds of a second miracle rebound aren’t really in his favor.
By: Dan Esche (@DanTheFlyeraFan)
photo credit: nhl.com
brotherlypuck.com 