There was quite a bit of negativity surrounding Sean Couturier at the end of last season and into the summer when the topic shifted towards his potential return to the lineup.
It was understandable to a point because of the severity of his injury, having to deal with a setback, and not having played in a year and a half. However it stretched beyond that and into the realm that 1) he was too old, 2) he was injury prone, 3) he was one check away from going back to LTIR, and 4) all of a sudden he wasn’t good enough. Essentially, he was never going to be the same.
The 2023-24 version of Sean Couturier has been a vital cog to the Philadelphia Flyers success and I think it’s fair to assume that he has put those thoughts to rest.
His impact on and off the ice was felt after his initial injury diagnosis back in December of 2021. To that point Couturier had become of the pillars of the organization alongside Claude Giroux and dating back from 2017-18, Couturier had really asserted himself as one of the best two-way centres in the game.
After scoring just 70 goals and 191 points in 416 games through his first 6 seasons – primarily in a checking role – Couturier scored 104 goals and 252 points in his next 272 games, while averaging 20:56 TOI, winning 56.6% of his draws, and finally winning the prestigious Selke Trophy awarded to the league’s best defensive forward in 2020.
He was off to a blistering start in 2021-22, scoring 5 goals and 12 points through the team’s first 10 games but slumped to the tune of 1 goal and 5 points in his final 19 games. He didn’t look like his normal-self, he looked frustrated, angry, and at times labouring. The news regarding his injury started to make sense but I don’t think anyone expected him to be out for as long as he was.
He went under the knife, it was a successful surgery, and Couturier was set to make his return ahead of the 2022-23 season with John Tortorella at the helm. Unfortunately, just before training camp, he suffered a setback in the same exact spot of his initial injury and after a few days it was reported that he was set to miss the entire regular season – which was just devastating news.
The hits kept coming as Cam Atkinson ended up missing the entire season as well, so Tortorella wasn’t afforded a full cast and crew in his first season. We immediately felt their loss in the lineup and as the season was winding down, both veterans were aiming to make a return in the final weeks.
You could have played devil’s advocate on this because on one side of the coin you have the disastrous Flyers who were one of the worst teams in the league and the prevailing thought was that there was no need to bring either veteran into the lineup and risk injury. However as athletes, it was probably very difficult to sit on the sidelines when you were finally cleared and ready to go.
The same thing happened with Kevin Hayes in 2021-22 when he returned from his third injury in the month of March and went on an absolute tear to end the year. Many wanted him to sit it out but he knew it was best for him to get back on the ice, play the game of hockey, and get some reps in before an all-important 2022-23 campaign. He claimed that his early season success in 2022-23 had to do with coming back from his injury rather than sitting out the rest of the season.
Injuries and setbacks are just the name of the game with a sport like hockey but when you factor in Couturier’s injury, there was nothing you could do. Anything related to the lower back, spine, and/or discs is hard to overcome – and for some like myself, you sometimes never fully heal. So the fear behind another injury or a setback is real but when you’re being tended to by some of the best doctors around, there’s a lot of optimism. Jack Eichel and everything that happened to him is a great example that could apply to Couturier.
However it looks like he has put to bed many of the worries that were plaguing Flyers fans about his arrival and subsequent play.
To date, Couturier has 10 goals and 19 assists for 29 points in 40 games, is plus-11, has only committed 8 minor penalties, is averaging just under 20 minutes a game, has won 52% of his draws, and has a 33:20 takeaway to giveaway ratio. He also has a 59.5 CF%, 13.7 CF% rel, 60.6 FF%, and an 11.9 FF% rel.
Couturier is 3rd on the team in points, is 1st in ATOI for forwards and 4th overall (not including Jamie Drysdale), has won over 200 more faceoffs than 2nd place Scott Laughton, and is the only Flyer with a faceoff percentage of 50% or higher. He also has the 2nd highest CF%, CF% rel, FF%, and FF% rel at even strength, leads the team defensive zone starts percentage, and is atop the club in takeaways.
The Flyers are 2nd in the NHL with a penalty killing unit that is successful 86.47% of the time through 133 attempts. They trail only the Los Angeles Kings who have been successful 87.07% through 116 attempts. Couturier hasn’t been leaned on as much this year as in year’s prior but he has still seen 56+ minutes while shorthanded and has been dominant otherwise – allowing just 2 goals when he’s been on the ice.
This season the Flyers have Scott Laughton, Travis Konecny, Cam Atkinson, Ryan Poehling, and Noah Cates when healthy pacing the ice time while shorthanded, allowing Couturier to gain traction, momentum, and his mojo back.
He has formed a dynastic duo with Konecny this season and with Joel Farabee back on his wing, the trio have been rather unstoppable. The rest of the lineup needs to shoulder some of the load but their even-strength play has been dominating, especially at 5v5. Couturier’s GF:GA ratio at 5v5 is 36-24, Konecny’s is 34:22, and Farabee’s is 31:23. They have been skating well over 20 minutes a night over the last two weeks and Tortorella continues to ride the hot hand.
Couturier’s value is sky-high for the Flyers and having him back in the lineup means they have a top-line forward, a shutdown centre, a power play specialist, a penalty killing wizard, a face-off marksman, and someone who can actually score in the shootouts.
He carries a full NMC on his contract that runs through the end of 2029-30 at a cap hit of $7.75 million. Yes, he’s 31 years old right now and has 760 games under his belt in 12+ seasons but with the way the Flyers are positioning themselves for the present and the future, Couturier has a rightful place slap bang in the middle of it all – and if he continues to perform, he has his spot cemented in the top-6.
The Flyers will go as far as Couturier can lead them this year, but the 31-year-old has aged like fine wine and has returned back to the form that saw him claim the Selke, be mentioned as part of plenty top-20 lists during preseasons, and where he scored 30+ goals in back-to-back campaigns.
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