Sean Couturier Injury Update is Promising, But…

Earlier this week, the Flyers got some better news about one of their player; Sean Couturier. It seems that the injured center may get a chance to play for the Flyers this season after all.

Let’s put this into perspective. Last year, Couturier battled through injuries as the Flyers season was falling apart. He put it all on the line before finally succumbing to injuries. The pain in his back was just too much and he had to sit out. The Flyers missed his defensive abilities, faceoff capabilities, and natural leadership skill as it floundered through a rough season highlighted by tons of major injuries to key players.

When the offseason began, it was hoped that Couturier would be able to use the summer months to heal and rehab. By the time training camp came, he would be as good as new and ready to take to the ice. With Claude Giroux gone, he would be one of the key leaders on this young team. Just before training camp, he took part in a press conference where he and Kevin Hayes shared that they are healed, healthy, and raring to go.

Just a few days later, the team dropped a bomb on all of us that sank our hearts. Couturier was hurt. Badly hurt. He had a herniated disc in his back. He was in a great deal of pain. He could miss most, if not all of the season if he needed to get surgery. The Flyers were going to look for a second opinion to see if that was the case.

Turns out the doctor with the second opinion said the injury was bad, but didn’t need to have surgery. As of now, he is declared week to week. He can still be placed on long term injured reserve; which would help the Flyers recover some salary cap money for the present and save a room on the team’s roster.

Perhaps he will heal enough to come back to the help this team. Maybe it will be after Christmas, after the All-Star Game, or after the trade deadline. Who knows? However…

Is that such a good thing that he returns? Case in point: Ryan Ellis. Ellis’s injury update from before training camp suggested that his career might be over. As talented as he is, his talents can’t help the team. Ellis played three games last year before getting hurt. Several weeks later, he came back…for one game. Maybe he’d still have the injury had he not come back. Maybe sitting out would have helped the injury heal. We don’t have a DeLorean. We can’t go back and find out.

However much we need Couturier and all he brings to the Flyers, is it wise to bring him back after such an injury? We need him on the ice; but don’t we need him on the ice for years to come. It may be important to have him strong and ready for the next few years as an important leader on this team as opposed to bringing him back when he isn’t ready, reinjuring his back, and then dooming the rest of his career.

As a Flyers fan, we’ve been through this before. Eric Lindros rushed back several times from concussions. While I can respect his desire to play and his competitive nature, how many more years were we robbed because he wasn’t ready to come back? What more could the Flyers have accomplished with a healthier, stronger Lindros at the helm?

Likewise, if Couturier is “healthy”, wouldn’t it be better to ensure he is healthy for the 2023-24 season and beyond than rush him back this year for a team that is probably not playoff bound? If he is really healthy and the team is somehow in playoff contention, that is a different story.  I, for one, would rather see him get back to his full strength so we can see him grace the ice at the Wells Fargo Center for years to come.