Photo Credit: Kyle Ross/Icon Sportswire
After undergoing his first full practice at Flyers morning skate in February/March. That was the first time in some time that Sean Couturier was on the ice with his teammates. Couturier was wearing a yellow no-contact practice jersey, he felt pretty good afterwards, “The goal ever since I have gotten surgery was to come back this year,” Couturier said following that particular morning skate. “Here we are getting closer, maybe get a practice in by the end of the week, and go from there.”
That was then, and this is now. Couturier finally played in the Flyers home opener for the first time in two years last night. It was something special for him, and he admitted that he is happy to score a goal and get that out of the way. What’s more intriguing is how some of his teammates spoke after the game of him. He is seen as a leader, and his teammates apparently look up to him for advice. Couturier just has that presence about him, it’s the way he carries or presents himself that sets him apart from the rest. He could become the next Captain of the Philadelphia Flyers when that time comes about, “He’s a leader, we look to him for leadership. He’s got a tremendous work ethic,” Carter Hart said following the game.
“To score tonight, especially on the penalty shot. It was a hell of a move, a little Martin St. Louis there,” Carter Hart continued.
The last time he scored a goal before last night was December 10, 2021. Of course, this was the old Coots, and he’s looking more and more like himself after each game he plays. It was a bit worrisome, as he was “Banged up”, and the home opener wasn’t questioned before the game commenced last night. He’s beloved in the City of Philadelphia.
“I’ve thought about it for the last two years,” Couturier said laughing of last night’s home opener. “It felt great, best fans in the league.”
Couturier played through a torn in MCL in games five and six versus the Pittsburgh Penguins in the 2018 playoffs, and he mustered four goals and two assists in those aforementioned games. Unfortunately, he had back revisionary surgery on October 27, 2022 in Dallas, Texas, but he also knows he had to get back into game shape, “Probably just going to have to skate a little more. I’ve trained a lot in the last year and a half, and I feel strong again, I feel back 100%. So, it’s just a matter of getting back to the level of a high NHL player. It’s going to be on me to just get ready. Obviously, I’m disappointed I couldn’t get into a few games and see where I’m at, but only time will tell if it was a benefit or not. We’ll see next year, but I’m for sure going into this offseason motivated and with a lot to prove coming into next year.”
“I’m not going to be saving this organization coming back. I think it’s important to do this rebuild the right way. What I’m saying is, if you look at kind of like New York a couple years ago, they send out that letter and you think it’s a big rebuild – three, four years – and next thing you know they’re in the playoffs the following year, two years later, and they’ve been good since. It’s like I said, things can change quick in the NHL. We’ve seen it the last two, three years, we were supposed to be one of the top-end teams and we went to the bottom of the standings. It’s on us as a team, as players, as an organization to switch it around and get back to where this organization belongs.” – Sean Couturier said
Coots missed a large part of last season, which turned out to be a season ending injury. He underwent successful back surgery and wound up missing the remainder of the 2021-22 campaign. Couturier was sidelined from December 18, 2021 (As stated above), and has yet to play a meaningful hockey game since. It was labeled as an ‘Upper-body” injury by the Flyers, but Couturier ended up having surgery to not further delay his possible return. Accountability is a missing element from Couturier on and off the ice. This was a strong word that was used for the Flyers before the 2022-23 season began. Couturier is no stranger to holding himself accountable, and that rubs off on his teammates, as well. Even while rehabbing he took the time to mentor Noah Cates on faceoffs at practices, as he continues to groom the youth, while wanting to return to game action, “He plays a mature game,” Couturier spoke of Cates. “He’s really reliable defensively, and I think he has some undercover really good offensive skills, also. I think if you give him maybe a little more opportunity offensively – power play and stuff – I think he can maybe produce a little more. He’s just one of those guys that you can throw out in any situation, and he’ll find a way to succeed. It’s like I said, he’s one of those guys that that you need to make runs and win.”
Couturier plays in all situations and does them well. The Flyers closed the first month of the season out with a 5-2-1 record last year, but most knew this wasn’t sustainable without the services of Couturier and Cam Atkinson for an extended period of time, and of course, their best play driving forward in Travis Konecny for an extended period of time, as well. Things have changed in the organization since he assigned his contract, forever remains committed to the team, “I feel I have a lot to prove. New coach, a lot of new teammates that I got to know over the last year and a half, but a lot of these guys I haven’t even played with,” Couturier said. “Whatever the captain situation is, or leadership group is, I’m still going to be the player and the guy I am and try to lead by example and do the right things all the time. So, doesn’t really change much for me.”
