Philadelphia Flyers head coach John Tortorella made another controversial decision recently. First, he decreased the ice time of captain Sean Couturier. Then, he went a step further, making him a healthy scratch for two games. Philadelphia's captain did return to the ice on Saturday. But he wants the past to remain in the past.
Couturier faced reporters on Saturday after a 3-2 win over the Boston Bruins. “It's behind me now,” Couturier said, via NHL.com, of his benching. “I don't want to really talk about it. I just want to help the team in any way I can. It all worked out well.”
Couturier's benching began on Tuesday in a win over the Toronto Maple Leafs. It came as a shock, as he had been named captain of the team not long ago. Furthermore, it marked the first game he missed while being completely healthy in his 12-year career. It was a move the Flyers felt the need to make, regardless.
Reasons for the benching
John Tortorella did not want to talk about the benching with the press. He mentioned putting the best players on the ice to give them a chance to win. However, the Flyers captain was not among that group. General manager Daniel Briere, though, gave a more concrete reasoning.
Briere joined the Snow The Goalie podcast and was asked about the situation. The former Flyers forward mentioned that he feels Couturier had lost a bit of a step. “He played a lot of heavy minutes,” Briere said prior to the game Saturday, via NHL.com. “Is that what caught up to him? I don't know. But he's lost a little bit of his jump lately.”
In fairness, there is reason for the Flyers to think this way. Couturier was named captain back on February 14th. In the games since, the longtime Philadelphia star scored just three points. Furthermore, all of those points were assists.
Couturier missed nearly two seasons due to injury before the 2023-24 campaign. He averaged nearly 19 and a half minutes over 55 games before the benching. One had to wonder if the extended workload caught up to him. Especially given the lack of game time prior to this season.
Flyers' Sean Couturier remains positive
Sean Couturier certainly wasn't happy with the situation. And you can understand where the Flyers captain is coming from. Still, he is trying to remain positive now that he has returned. For instance, he recognizes that his two-game break could provide a benefit for his team in the playoffs.
“That's the way I tried to see it anyway,” he said, via NHL.com. “Tried to work on my game. Obviously having a couple days off definitely helps with the body and [to] feel fresh. Just thought I'd try to bring some energy tonight.”
Overall, Couturier is ready to go. With the Flyers battling for their playoff lives, it's important for everyone to be firing on all cylinders. The Philadelphia captain certainly wants to contribute. If he can chip in, he will give it his all with the Stanley Cup Playoffs firmly in sight.
“I felt great,” he said, via NHL.com. “Just happy to be back and contribute in any way I can. … Definitely felt fresh. Had a week to kind of just recover, refocus, recharge the battery. Any way I can help the team I'll do it, and that's all that matters.”
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