Sean Couturier has been sidelined with numerous injuries since he last played on December 18th. After a maintenance day following the game, Chuck Fletcher spoke on Couturier’s staus and spoke on the various upper and lower body injuries that the veteran forward had been dealing with. He would end up entering COVID protocols the day after missing practice as the Flyers would end up with an early holiday break due to a postponement against the Capitals.
After the break, Couturier appeared ready to re-join the team after his stint in protocol. However, the team decided to give him a bit more time to recover. The specifics of Couturier’s injuries were never disclosed, but it had been evident that he was bothered by something. While still a valuable part of the team whenever he was on the ice, it was clear that he was not at his best at the time.
Couturier was placed on injured reserve on December 30th and later moved to LTIR in mid-January. Originally labeled as simply week-to-week, the news didn’t progress in a positive direction after that. Couturier ended up having season-ending back surgery on Friday morning.
Injury update: Philadelphia Flyers center Sean Couturier had successful back surgery this morning at Pennsylvania Hospital by Dr. Jon Yoon. He will be out for the remainder of the season. https://t.co/pnA6uNlvI6
— Philadelphia Flyers (@NHLFlyers) February 11, 2022
For a team that already doesn’t have much hope of crawling out of this hole left, this news makes it even less likely that they’ll be able to find a way out to make a run. Even when injured, Couturier plays an important role in more than a few ways. The team has already been without him since mid-December and will have to make it the rest of the way trying to fill his shoes.
While this is not an issue that Couturier has dealt with before, any time of injury involving the back can be a tricky subject. With a three-month recovery time, he will have the entire summer to rehab and be ready for next season. There is a belief within the organization that this will not be something that hampers him moving forward.
This could also change how the team views the rest of the season now that one of their biggest strengths will not return. With other question marks on players like Kevin Hayes and Ryan Ellis, looking towards next year would be the obvious answer. And with the trade deadline coming up next month, it’s hard to see the Flyers truly believing they can dig their way out of a very deep hole.