Everyone's favorite Philadelphia athlete, Rocky Balboa, once said, "It doesn't matter how many times you are knocked down but how many times you get back up". That could easily be the mantra for Flyers' captain Sean Couturier. The last three years have been very unkind to him. Injuries have plagued the once valiant stalwart of the Flyers and have been very frustrating to him. How will he deal with the adversity?
In 2021-22, he was limited to 29 games as a lingering back injury claimed him. He missed the entirety of the 2022-23 season as the back injury issues wouldn't go away. He was frustrated that he couldn't go out and join his team, even if they wouldn't be playoff-bound. The warrior within wanted to hit the ice and join his teammates in battle.
He finally returned to the ice last year. He was also given the title that we knew for so long was deserved: team captain. But there were still issues after an absence from the game for so long. He was sluggish in coming back. While he wasn't sloppy (47 takeaways, just one short of a career-high), he was still moving slowly.
There were other concerns as well. John Tortorella had scratched him several times because of "pacing issues" or to help jump-start him. He also battled shoulder injuries and a sports hernia for most of the season. He didn't like being scratched nor did he like his playing time reduced, However, Tortorella argued that he had to do what was best for the team.
"It turned into a situation. I get that he’s the captain and the timing of it all was not great. But I’m not going to — the captaincy is not going to stop me from holding people accountable. And if I determine that other players are playing better — and it was going on for a while, Sean struggled for a while prior to that — I’m going to make that call."John Tortorella
Sean Couturier's health is key for the Flyers
I'd bet that Couturier knew he wasn't at his best last year. He's too good of a player to know what he is capable of and how he was playing. He had to have known that he could be better. I'm sure that he and Tortorella reconciled after the season when emotions were a little lower. After all, a rejuvenated Couturier, just a few years removed from his Selke Trophy campaign, is super valuable to this team.
This upcoming year will see some major milestones for Couturier. He is five games shy of playing 800 career games, which will make him just the fourth Flyer to do so (Bobby Clarke, Claude Giroux, and Bill Barber). He is two points shy of becoming the 16th Flyer with 500 career points. He is nine goals away from scoring his 200th career goal.
Couturier will be a Flyer for years to come as long as his body holds out. He is signed through 2030. He will turn 32 this upcoming December. He will never be the player he was a few years ago when he was scoring 30+ goals a year. At this point, settling for 20 would be fine. He still has the instincts that could earn him another Selke Trophy. We just have to keep him healthy. If we can do that, this team will be fine. One healthy Couturier is worth two other players.