3 Reasons Sean Couturier can win second Selke with Flyers

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The Philadelphia Flyers are off to a very respectable 2-1-0 start to their regular season, and the return of former Selke Trophy winner Sean Couturier has played a big part in that.

Couturier has played with a variety of different linemates to start the year, including Cam Atkinson, Joel Farabee, rookies Bobby Brink and Tyson Foerster, and Owen Tippett. The common denominator between all of these players is that they’ve played their best hockey – analytically, that is – next to the veteran center.

In just his third NHL regular season game since Dec. 18, 2021, Couturier drew and converted a penalty shot against the Vancouver Canucks, and dominated a matchup with Hart Trophy candidate Elias Pettersson. The 30-year-old faced his Swedish counterpart for 2:49 at even strength and out-attempted him 8-5. In that same timeframe, the Flyers generated six scoring chances to to the Canucks’ three. Of those six scoring chances, five were high-danger.

A herculean effort from Vancouver goaltender Thatcher Demko kept the score from getting ugly, but Philadelphia can be proud of a staunch defensive effort that allowed them to dominate in front of Flyers faithful. But, can the team – and Couturier himself – take things one step even further?

Back in his prime, the 2019 Selke Trophy winner was one of the league’s very best two-way centers. Indeed, not one of the biggest stars nor a superstar. But, if the Flyers can keep up their defense-first charade throughout the entire season, a wildcard playoff spot isn’t out of the question. Neither is a second Selke Trophy for Couturier. Let’s discuss.

Nico Hischier shields the puck from the Flyers’ Morgan Frost. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images) /

#3. Flyers, Couturier ahead of the competition

The New Jersey Devils and the Florida Panthers were two of the best Eastern Conference teams last year, and both made lengthy playoff runs. Each team’s blueline has experienced a lot of turnover heading into this season, and defense goes a long way towards achieving results.

The Flyers too have injected a lot of youth into their defense corps, but most of these players have played together in some capacity previously. Most of their rivals don’t have that benefit, and the early results have shown so.

For Couturier, having a strong supporting cast is important because at times, this will allow him to focus on his nightly matchup by itself. If the rest of the team can take care of their jobs, it will make his that much easier.

In this regard, Selke candidates like Nico Hischier and Aleksander Barkov have their work cut out for them. Hischier, who was last year’s Selke runner-up to the retired Patrice Bergeron, is without a point in his first three games and has struggled to create any offense. Barkov finished outside the top-five in voting last year after placing third the year prior, and winning the year before that.

It’ll be interesting to see how things play out, but right now, Couturier and the Flyers are quietly in a good place to kick off the new season.

Patrice Bergeron fist bumps with Carter Hart after defeating the Flyers in the ‘NHL Outdoors At Lake Tahoe’ game. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images) /

#2. No more Bergeron for the Flyers

The longtime Bruins captain is now retired and can no longer be a thorn in the Flyers’ side, and his absence means more opportunities to win the Selke Trophy for players like Couturier.

After not having won the prestigious award since his age 31 season in 2015-16, Bergeron closed out his NHL career with back-to-back victories at ages 36 and 37. The pair of wins brought him up to a whopping six in total – an unprecedented level of dominance. Only he and Bob Gainey (4) have won the award more than three times.

With a clean bill of health and a rejuvenated supporting cast, Couturier is now in prime position to become the only Flyers player to win the Selke multiple times. In fact, only nine other players in total have won the award more than once, which makes for an even deeper cut into the history books.

A fairly large amount of people believe the Selke Trophy should be renamed after Bergeron, and the older Flyers players should be thankful every day that they won’t have to face such a dominant and smart player like that again. After that, they can turn their attention to helping their teammate secure his second piece of major silverware.

Anze Kopitar jostles with Scott Laughton for a loose puck in a game against the Flyers. (Photo by Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images) /

#1. Kopitar getting older, losing steam

Perhaps one of the only threats still remaining to Couturier, Anze Kopitar is a two-time Selke winner and perennial nominee who hasn’t won since the 2017-18 season. The Los Angeles Kings star is still kicking in year 18, but he’s also got plenty of wear on his tires with 1,295 NHL regular season games and counting.

Last season was the first time Kopitar finished in the top-five of Selke voting since he last won the award in 2018. The Kings have been an up-and-down team as their core players aged over the years, and without a stable goaltending situation, it’s going to be a chaotic year. If Kopitar can’t get saves, the numbers will reflect poorly on his chances of winning again.

Los Angeles is currently relying on a tandem of 36-year-old Cam Talbot and NHL journeyman Pheonix Copley, whose starting job was usurped by Joonas Korpisalo upon his arrival last season. Korpisalo now tends goal for the Ottawa Senators, while Copley got shelled for six goals on 19 shots in his only start of the season thus far.

In contrast for Couturier and the Flyers, Carter Hart has been mostly rock-solid so far, highlighted by his recent 25-save shutout of the Canucks at home. Hart only needs one more shutout the rest of the way to match his career-high two shutouts, which he set last season.

This Philadelphia team is a young one that needs to take steps forward, and it looks like Hart is beginning to do that. Couturier’s job is to be the responsible beacon of light guiding them on their path as a bastion of Flyers hockey.

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The pieces will fall into place, but only Couturier can ensure he competes for a second Selke Trophy – nobody else.

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