We are approaching a full calendar year since we last saw Sean Couturier suit up for the Philadelphia Flyers. The star centre hasn’t played a game since the 18th of December, 2021, where he recorded an assist in a 4-3 victory against the Ottawa Senators.
For Cam Atkinson, it hasn’t been as long but we haven’t seen him in uniform since the 12th of April, 2022 in a 9-2 loss to the Washington Capitals. Two very important players for the Flyers have yet to suit up this season, with one suffering a setback and the latter being ruled out for the season.
The 10-15-7 Flyers currently sit 7th in the Metropolitan Division with 27 points, ahead of only the Columbus Blue Jackets who has 22 points in 2 less games. Entering Tuesday, the Flyers are also 15th out of 16 in the Eastern Conference and 27th out of 32 in the NHL ahead of only the San Jose Sharks, Arizona Coyotes, Columbus Blue Jackets, Anaheim Ducks, and Chicago Blackhawks. Teams like the Coyotes, Blue Jackets, and Blackhawks carry games in hand on the Flyers.
Without arguably their top-two goal scoring options, the Flyers sit 3rd-last in goals per game at 2.41 and are 4th-last in total goals scored with 77. There are 17 teams with over 100 goals, including the NHL-leading Buffalo Sabres with 118 in one less game than the Flyers. There are also 6 teams with 90-99 goals and then 3 more teams with 85-89 goals. In other words, in a newly high-octane league where goals are commonplace, the Flyers have found themselves in an unenviable position where they can’t find the back of the net.
The Flyers’ current leading goal scorer, Travis Konecny, is tied for 55th in the NHL with 12 goals alongside Erik Karlsson, Mitch Marner, and Nikita Kucherov, among others. Second on the team is Kevin Hayes with 9, which puts him tied for 100th in the NHL. The Flyers are just among a handful of teams with just 2 players in the top 100 alongside the Ducks and Coyotes. Hayes is currently tied for 55th in points with 29 and Konecny tied for 75th with 26.
Owen Tippett is third on the team with 8 then it drops to Scott Laughton with 6, and then Joel Farabee, Morgan Frost, and James van Riemsdyk with 5. The offence has been paced by Hayes (29 points) and Konecny (26 points) with secondary help coming from Farabee (15) and Tony DeAngelo and Tippett (14). I use the term secondary very loosely because for the most part everyone outside of Konecny and Hayes has been nonexistent – with the exception of van Riemsdyk who just recently returned from a 20-game absence.
Out of the lineup are two players who are very well capable of scoring 30+ goals each. Atkinson has hit the 30-goal plateau twice in his career, while also scoring 20+ 7 times in the last 7 complete seasons. Between 2013-14 and 2018-19, Atkinson scored 170 goals in 465 games on 1,420 shots. Meanwhile, Sean Couturier scored 104 goals and 252 points in 276 games from 2017-18 to 2020-21. Were it not for COVID, he was on pace for 26 goals in 2019-20 and 33 goals in the shortened season of 2020-21 after scoring 31 and 33 in back-to-back seasons prior.
Atkinson in his first year with the Flyers had 23 goals and 46 points in his first 61 games – a pace of 31 goals and 62 points – primarily playing alongside Claude Giroux before his trade to Florida. After that he slumped to the tune of 0 goals and 3 assists in his final 12 games before falling to an injury against the Washington Capitals. The Flyers lacked talent after the Giroux deal but it’s no surprise or shame to admit that Atkinson needs a playmaker to produce – as do most goal scorers in the NHL. Therefore bringing in the equation of Sean Couturier with Cam Atkinson. Both of whom were primed to start the season on the same line before the former suffered a setback to his initial back surgery and the latter being placed on IR with a neck injury that has kept him out of the first 31 games, and now the rest of the season.
The Flyers have played to the best of their ability this season with what they have at their disposal and because of the injuries, several players have bene thrusted up the lineup like Noah Cates, Morgan Frost, Owen Tippett, and even Zack MacEwen. Imagining a healthy Atkinson and Couturier in the top 6 right now would have the Flyers contending for more victories and probably not being mired in losing streak after losing streak. They still wouldn’t be a contending team but from what we’ve seen from grinders and AHL call-ups, the new system in place would’ve benefitted them in particular.
Atkinson thrived under Tortorella during his time in Columbus as evidenced by the four seasons of 27 (81 games), 35 (82 games), 24 (65 games), and 41 (80 games) goals, and he was very outspoken about his new head coach over the summer – which played a part in his hiring. Couturier on the other hand just seems like a coach’s dream with his responsible 200-foot game, his defensive game matching his offensive acumen, and his leadership qualities that he would most definitely have as an 11-year veteran with the Orange and Black. Both players play in all situations, whether it’s the power play, penalty kill, overtime, shootouts, and the Flyers are currently in such a position where they sit near dead last in almost every offensive category.
They are tied for 29th in goals, 29th in shots on goal, 29th in power play percentage, 30th in shooting percentage, and 30th in faceoffs. Couturier and Atkinson wouldn’t make them a top 10 team but they fire shots, they are top-unit power play specialists, and in Couturier’s bag of tricks are his faceoff wins – a 56.2% success rate over the last 6 seasons.
Alas, Couturier probably won’t return until February at the earliest and Atkinson, who was supposedly close to returning last week, was ruled out for the rest of the season yesterday. Their returns would’ve been welcomed with open arms, needed more than ever, and it would just be fun to see them playing again, especially Couturier who we haven’t seen in a year.
We just want the Flyers to be fun again, even if it’s a slight adjustment to what we’ve currently seen 31 games into the season.
