February 14, 2024
The C has finally been handed out and to the player who, before the injuries and before the shift into a rebuild, was long thought to be the next to wear it.
Sean Couturier has been named captain of the Philadelphia Flyers, the 20th in franchise history, the organization revealed in a surprise announcement Wednesday night.
"Sean Couturier is an ideal choice to be the next leader of the Philadelphia Flyers," general manager Danny Brière said in a released statement. "Sean was drafted here and has made Philadelphia his home. I have personally seen his development from a responsible forward to one of the best two-way centermen in the game and a playoff performer. The adversity he has had to overcome has only strengthened his proven leadership. In this New Era of Orange with Dan Hilferty, Keith Jones and John Tortorella at the helm, we couldn't be more proud to call him captain."
Also getting a new letter on his jersey is All-Star winger Travis Konecny, who not only leads the team in scoring this season but has taken on a far greater share of responsibility both on the ice and within the locker room. He'll be serving as an alternate captain alongside Scott Laughton, who will continue to wear an A as he's had going back to last season.
The Flyers had gone without a captain ever since Claude Giroux was traded away to Florida back in March 2022. John Tortorella was hired as the next head coach that summer for an organization at a crossroads, and knowing he needed to reset and re-establish the team culture, he opted not to name a new one.
He trusted Laughton, as the most respected veteran member of the roster he inherited, to wear an A, but other than that, there wasn't a need and hardly a rush. Someone had to come along and earn it while the Flyers rebuilt themselves, and it wasn't clear at the time if that player was even in the building yet.
All the while, Couturier never got a chance to try. Back issues and multiple surgeries to address them dating back to the 2021-22 season robbed him of nearly two years of playing time, and when he was finally healthy and ready to come back in full for this 2023-24 campaign, there was a lot of uncertainty going into it over whether he would still be the same Selke Trophy-caliber first-line center that he was before.
Couturier put those concerns to rest pretty quickly though.
COOOOOOOTS! #LetsGoFlyers pic.twitter.com/VyKVCh4Wie
— Philadelphia Flyers (@NHLFlyers) February 15, 2024
He ate up minutes from Game 1, got back to winning key draws in the faceoff circle without a hitch, jumped right back into taking on the toughest defensive assignments from night to night, and through 50 out of the Flyers' 54 games so far has 33 points (11 goals, 22 assists) and a plus-7 rating.
He's been great and between his experience, skill, and excellent anticipation and positioning, he's been a major reason why the Flyers have looked dramatically better this year – to the point where they caught nearly everyone off guard to challenge for a playoff spot in April.
And if there was a moment that cemented Couturier as the guy, it might have very well been Saturday night against Seattle. In the third period, the Kraken came down the ice and scored to tie the game at two. Couturier sent an errant pass through the middle of the ice that got taken the other way, the Seattle dump in took a strange bounce back out from behind the Flyers' net and got lost in his feet, which left Jared McCann free to take the puck and fire it home.
That sequence was on Couturier, he knew it, and Tortorella gave him an earful coming back to the bench. But he responded.
When Couturier got back onto the ice, he won a crucial offensive zone faceoff back to Travis Sanheim at the point, then moved in front of the net to tip in the shot from out far for what proved to be the game-winner, with a very directed fist pump after during the celebration.
"Oh that was 'F you!' to me, yeah," Tortorella said postgame. "I'm sure it was. So be it. So be it. That's part of it. That's what I like about him though. He's a crusty old pro. He's a huge part of this.
"I have a tremendous amount of respect for how he's handled this year after taking two years off, but there's no free passes. We need him terribly in games to be consistent."
"Oh, that was eff you to me, yeah. I'm sure it was." 😂
— NBC Sports Philadelphia (@NBCSPhilly) February 11, 2024
John Tortorella was in Sean Couturier's ear after the Kraken's game-tying goal. Couturier responded with the game-winning goal and the head coach loved the celebration. 🗣️ pic.twitter.com/NZSug4QX3S
Now that "crusty old pro" will be taking the ice for the Flyers' next game in Toronto Thursday night with a C on his chest – a C that, until a year ago, he was long expected to take in the post-Giroux era – and for every game hereafter as team tries to push this current rebuild into an earlier than expected playoff appearance.
“It’s such a great honor," Couturier said. "It’s a really prestigious organization so this makes it even more special. This city is my home and I love it here.
"It’s going to be business as usual for me. Nothing is really going to change from me or my game and how I approach things. I love my teammates, how we have grown as a group and I want to make sure we keep going on the right path here.”
Follow Nick on Twitter: @itssnick
Like us on Facebook: PhillyVoice Sports
