Let's be brutally honest. It hasn't been easy watching Sean Couturier over the last few seasons. He is a long way from his former Selke Trophy self. Injuries and new coaches have taken their toll on the Flyers' captain. True, all players slow down the older they get. It is inevitable. But for Couturier, it happened so fast and suddenly, missing the entire 2022-23 season.
After losing playing minutes under former head coach John Tortorella, there was hope Couturier could bounce back a bit. He did, sorta. His average time on ice dropped by 30 seconds. His point production dropped just a tad (from 45 to 36). But that wasn't all that changed.
With Noah Cates out and other injuries hitting the team all at once, head coach Rick Tocchet approached Couturier with a new opportunity. He needed him to helm the fourth line. For most veterans, this would be an insult. Surely he's more valuable as a second or third line center, right? He's going to the bottom line now.
Couturier took the job because it was for the "betterment of the team". You know what, it was. In 20 games, he centered a line with Luke Glendenning and Garnet Hathaway. In the lead-up to the playoffs, this line was pretty devastating. Couturier scored half of his twelve goals in those last 20 games, including a two-goal performance against Winnipeg that secured a playoff berth. During the playoff run, he scored one goal with three assists and won 54 percent of his faceoffs.
New Year, New Role?
Well, Hathaway and Glendening are gone. Despite a good run, they are no longer part of the Flyers. Couturier will have to center a line with someone else.
Most likely, his new linemates will be someone younger who can learn from his experience. Perhaps Nikita Grebenkin will join him when he is healthy. Denver Barkey played alongside him last season. He could join him if he cracks the roster. Carl Grundstrom also looks like he could spell some time with Couturier.
Either way, his biggest role will be to mentor some of Philly's younger players. After all, you don't stick around in the NHL for 14 seasons without learning a trick or two. Couturier is not just the longest- tenured player on the Flyers, but he is currently the longest-tenured player in Philly, beating Lane Johnson out by two seasons. He's also primed to hit some pretty important milestones coming up. Someday he'll be in the Flyers Hall of Fame.
But let's concentrate on the now. If he can replicate what he did in the last 20 games of last season and do that for most of this year, the Flyers will be in great shape. Maybe playing alongside two guys who are young, hungry, and determined to stay in the lineup could spark a youth renaissance in him. It's not out of the realm of possibility that he has a 15-20 goal season and 40 points, even in a fourth-line role.
We'll just have to wait and see what happens.
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